sport news Scottie Scheffler's shocking arrest will leave a lasting scar on Louisville, ... trends now
As the leaders prepared to tee off on the final day of the PGA Championship, only the occasional Free Scottie t-shirt was a lasting reminder that just two before the World No. 1 was arrested at the gates of Valhalla but Louisville’s natives are worried the saga is going to leave a scar.
When the golfing world descended on Louisville, Kentucky for the second major of the year they were expecting to witness the sport’s greatest slay Valhalla. Instead, they were met with the surreal sight of a two-time major winner being led away in handcuffs.
What was arguably more surreal was that by the time he wrapped up his final round at the PGA Championship, recording a brilliant 65 for a 13 under par tally, he was sitting in the top 10. A remarkable feat given the bizarre events 48 hours prior.
Yet, while inmate no. 00654436 managed to salvage his tournament, the locals believe the damage to their commonwealth is beyond repair.
The professionals have now packed up - Xander Schauffele with the Wanamaker in tow - the spectators are long gone along with their haul of merchandise, the PGA of America has already begun to dismantle the theater of Valhalla and Louisville fears they’ll never return. Concerning, but not altogether surprising.
Louisville locals are concerned the Scottie Scheffler saga will impact the city's reputation
Scheffler was arrested last week in dramatic scenes during the 2024 PGA Championship
‘It seemed on the nose of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, they can be a little overzealous,’ Chase, 35, told DailyMail.com as he waited in one of the many snaking concession lines at the Pouring Bar on the scorching Sunday.
‘It was a bit of a black eye for the week. It was a pretty great exciting week. There’s been a lot of buildup over the last couple of years. But hopefully the finish to the tournament will wash that away.
‘For people outside of Louisville, who maybe aren’t familiar with the event over the last few years, it could impact the reputation of the city. Between the fact that the PGA stole their stake in Valhalla and then what happened on Friday, it seems like a perfect storm for not coming back.’
He wasn’t alone in his fears. Taylor, 33, who also attended the tournament over the weekend, agreed that the ‘wild’ events of Friday will ‘have a negative effect’ on getting the PGA to return to Valhalla.
‘I grew up five minutes from here so I know the road really well and all the traffic situations and it seemed like it wasn’t what it was blown up to be,’ Wes, 31, added. ‘Tough situation for the day. I’m sure it was a big misunderstanding, everyone was on edge from the morning.
‘We know we’re never going to get another PGA. This is the last one, I’m sure of it. But it doesn’t surprise us, we get a bad rep for a lot of things.’
That existing bad reputation the locals at Valhalla admitted to shouldering stems from the death of Breonna Taylor in 2020.
Taylor, a 26-year-old black medical worker, was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police during a botched raid on her apartment, which spurred wide-scale unrest over policing and racial injustice in the United States. Scheffler’s Louisville lawyer, Steve Romines, previously represented the boyfriend of Taylor in a civil suit against the city a few years ago.
By the time he wrapped up his final round, he was remarkably sitting in the top 10
Xander Schauffele finally clinched a major title, lifting the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday
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