PGA Championship 2024: Xander Schauffele leads after Scottie Scheffler plays on despite arrest
The Masters champion described his arrest outside Valhalla as a ‘big misunderstanding’ as he returned to shoot a five-under 66 and keep himself in contention at the halfway stage
Xander Schauffele maintained a slender lead at the halfway stage of the PGA Championship after a day dominated by the chaotic arrest of Scottie Scheffler in the early hours of Friday morning at Valhalla.
The American had been attempting to make his way to the course ahead of the start of the second round, but was stopped by police over what he later called “a big misunderstanding”.
Scheffler was placed in handcuffs and arrested, before being charged by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections, with the second round pushed back by an hour and 20 minutes due to the fatal accident.
The 27-year-old was later released by police and produced a sparkling five-under-par 66 to remain in contention for his second major in as many months. The World No.1 sits three shots back of Schauffele who fired a three-under 69 to set the clubhouse lead at -12.
Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and fellow American Sahith Theegala sit in contention at -11 and -10 respectively but Rory McIlroy’s bid to end his decade-long major drought stuttered after a disappointing even-par round.
Relive all the action from the second round of the PGA Championship below:
Hubbard ends with a flourish
Hubbard -9 (68)
He’s not the most notable name on the leaderboard but Hubbard will be right in the thick of it tomorrow. A birdie finish for the American who signs off for a three-under-par round of 68 to reach -9 for the tournament.
Hovland holes out!
Hovland -5 (4)
The Norwegian has been fighting tooth and nail to get back to his best after a flat start to the season.
Having reunited with former coach Joe Mayo earlier in the week, it looks light and day and he’s surging up the leaderboard now after holing out from the fairway for an eagle on the fourth.
He can’t believe it.
One hop and in.
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 17, 2024
Absolutely beautiful from Viktor Hovland 🤌 pic.twitter.com/mJMFKHtoBh
Brooks bounces back
Koepka -5 (3)
The defending champion was out of position on the first but he’s bounced back in style, birdieing the second before pouring one in on the third to move up to -5 for the tournament.
More woes for Woods
Woods +8 (4)
Well, it looked unlikely for Tiger but now, his hopes of making the cut are virtually nil.
More short-game woes - often his strength - means that Woods walks off the fourth hole with his second triply bogey in three holes. He’s now eight shots off the projected cut line.
Back to the golf
Right, with Scheffler’s press conference concluded, let’s get back to the on-course action.
More from Scheffler
“I was just so confused at what was happening at the time. I didn’t know what time it was. I didn’t know what was going on. When I was sitting in the holding cell, there was a TV there and I could see myself on the TV on ESPN.
“Get Up was on, so in the corner it showed the time and it said they were delayed, and I was kind of thinking about my tee time, I was like, well, maybe I could be able to get out. The officers downstairs, they were discussing how long it was going to take me to get released.
“Obviously, we have to go through all the due process and everything. I was able to kind of see a bit of the TV, and then I laid down and then I started to stretch a little bit once I got my heart rate down a little bit. I didn’t really feel like I would make my tee time until one of the officers at the jail came by my holding cell and knocked on the window and said, ‘Let’s go.’
“As far as best rounds of my career, I would say it was pretty good. 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. But yeah, like I said, I was grateful to be able to go out there and compete, and yeah, it was definitely a nice round of golf. I’m glad to be out here competing, doing what I love.”
More from Scheffler
On the arrest: “It was just a huge misunderstanding this morning. That’ll get resolved I think fairly quickly. I came here for a golf tournament. I was driving in this morning, trying to get to my warmup time and get ready for the round of golf. I didn’t really have an understanding of what had transpired this morning.
“I was pretty rattled to say the least. The officer that took me to the jail was very kind. He was great. We had a nice chat in the car, that kind of helped calm me down. I was sitting there waiting to kind of go in and I asked him, I was like, ‘Hey, excuse me, can you just come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down?’
“I was never angry. I was just in shock, and I think my body was just shaking the whole time. I was shaking for like an hour. It was definitely a new feeling for me. He came out and we had a nice chat and then the officers inside the jail were tremendous.
“A couple of them made some jokes when they figured out who I was, what happened and how I ended up there. This one older officer looked at me as I was doing my fingerprints, and he looks at me and he goes, ‘So do you want the full experience today?’
“I kind of looked at him, and I was like, I don’t know how to answer that. He’s like, Come on, man, you want a sandwich? I was like, Sure, I’ll take a sandwich. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I mean, they were really kind. I’m grateful that we have such strong police, and they’re our protectors out there, and like I said, we just got into a chaotic situation this morning. That’s really all it was.”
More from Scheffler
“I feel like my head is still spinning. I can’t really explain what happened this morning. I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was a first for me. That was part of my warmup.
“I was just sitting there waiting and I started going through my warmup, I felt like there was a chance I may be able to still come out here and play.
“I started going through my routine and I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could today, but like I said, I still feel like my head is spinning a little bit. But I was fortunate to be able to make it back out and play some golf today.”
Scheffler speaks to the media
More to come from Scheffler but here’s his initial remarks to the media following his round today:
Scottie Scheffler addresses the media. pic.twitter.com/xD1kcZrAMc
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 17, 2024
Rahm facing an anxious wait
Rahm E (72)
The Spaniard finished up a bit ago but the Spaniard has a nervy wait on his hands to see if he has made the cut. A second-round 72 has him largely out of contention but he may not even be around for the weekend if the scoring is good in the afternoon wave.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick is another one sitting on level par after today’s round.
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