“I definitely never imagined ever going to jail, and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times for sure.” For sure, nobody does. And quite frankly, none thought the world’s no.1 would. That was Scottie Scheffler by the way, in his first press conference after getting out of jail in May. Sitting in that room at Valhalla you could’ve sensed the tinge of sarcasm in his voice. A fleeting smile sparkled for a moment. 

Months have passed. And now we have a documentary that throws more light on those fateful hours. PGA Tour released ‘Scottie 24’ less than 24 hours ago. Scheffler lingers on his ‘boring’ jail time for a moment. More than the fiasco itself, the aftermath of it bothered him more. Would he face backlash at Valhalla? He was in for a surprise.

For the record, the world no.1 has never really got into a brawl with anyone. Yes, he is an elite trash-talker on the greens but road rage? Disobeying rules? Not Scheffler. Then he got arrested. In the documentary, the two-time major winner said, “It wasn’t just like I got arrested. I got arrested and charged with like second-degree assault of a police officer, which is pretty extreme charge.” He is right. 

Scheffler was charged with dragging detective Bryan Gillis with his car. LMPD slapped three counts of misdemeanor on him. It was a result of confusion. Detective Bryan Gillis wanted to stop Scheffler from entering the gates of Valhalla. A traffic blockade was in place due to a shuttle bus accident hours before. Scheffler misunderstood the command and drove past. A second-degree assault of a police officer in Kentucky can land you in prison for five to ten years in addition to a $10K fine. 

The two-time major winner was shaken at first. But eventually, he had a hunch that he would be allowed to tee off. Yet, there were doubts. What would fans think? How would they welcome him? Would they welcome him at all? Scheffler continued, “So, I had just kind of a weird feeling… for me, [I] kind of wondered people are gonna be mad at me for this?” They weren’t.

He received a hero’s welcome. Even before world no.1 arrived at the gates of Valhalla, t-shirts with ‘Free Scottie’ etched on them started circulating among fans. Some even wore it to the greens. From his fellow players to fans, everyone came in support of the 28-year-old. Scheffler recounted in the PGA Tour documentary, “It was you know some of the loudest cheers I got for the year.” It indeed was. 

Scheffler even high-fived a few of his fans standing by the range and the turf. He carded 66 on Friday after coming out of jail. There was no sign of nervousness in his game.  It was a miraculous round given the circumstances. How did he manage? Caddie, Ted Scott had a theory.

Valhalla became Scottie Scheffler’s ground of redemption

No one knew what to expect of Scottie Scheffler on Friday. It could’ve been a wild round and none would’ve blamed him. But the world no.1 didn’t step a foot wrong. Ted Scott, Scheffler’s caddie explained, “When you’re in a traumatic situation, sometimes you can use a sport to get lost. I think that helped him to be on the golf course to be at a place he is good at focusing on what’s in front of him.” Of course, it speaks of Scheffler’s mental strength. Something that Scott is well aware of. 

The outlier that entire week was a 73 on Saturday when Scott was on leave because of his daughter’s graduation. Brad Payne, friend and mentor, filled in. The next day, with Scott back in his bag, the world no.1 once again rallied to a 65. Scottie Scheffler eventually settled for a T8.

That he was stretching in jail and thinking a step ahead evinces why Scottie Scheffler is number one. And how the two-time Masters champ stays relentless on the greens. The Dallas native stitched together a historic season laced with eight victories, five of which came after the Valhalla incident. Trevor Immelman, former Masters champ and now CBS lead analyst was asked what he learned from the entire fiasco. “Just how he can be calm during chaos,” said Immelman with a smile. That’s about as perfectly as you can put it.