“I thought we would only talk about golf…”, defended Scottie Scheffler when asked about the arrest issue in the preview of the Memorial Tournament that starts the day after tomorrow at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He then laughed, aware that he would logically be asked about the unfortunate matter, once he had been acquitted of any charges.
The World Number One acknowledges that despite not having any judicial penalty against him, it is not easy to turn the page: “I would say that I haven’t fully overcome it yet because, yes, the charges were dropped, but… it was quite traumatic for me to be arrested going to the golf course. Now that the charges have been dropped, people ask me about what happened and, to be honest with you, it’s not something I like to relive”.
In the same vein, he acknowledges that he feels uncomfortable and would like to look forward, but the photograph in the orange jumpsuit does not leave his mind: “It’s not something I like to talk about and it’s something I hope to leave behind, now that the charges have been dropped, it’s the beginning to overcome it. It was obviously a relief, but not total, because that is something that will always, I think, stay with me. That police file photo, I’m sure it’s not going to leave me in the short term”, Scottie held with a certain smile on his face.
The double Masters champion appreciates all the support received in recent weeks and is aware that humour is essential in this situation as one of the best medicines to leave everything behind: “The support I received from everyone who knows me was extremely favourable. I haven’t received any negative comments from anyone who knows me personally. The encouragement from the fans was tremendous last week. The support I received from the players was also spectacular. Yes, my friends joke about it, but that’s because they’re my friends. Friends are supposed to joke about this kind of things. But they are the same ones who hug me and ask me if I’m okay. If all they did was laugh at me, it would be another story, but my friends are my friends, they love me and I love them, so I gladly accept the teasing from people who love me”.
One of the keys to turning the page is that Scheffler himself has acknowledged that he did not want to file complaints against the police for what he understands was an illegal and unfair arrest.
His lawyer believes they had more than enough reasons to do so, but Scottie wasn’t so sure it was the best thing for him: “For me personally, it wasn’t an option. If we had needed to use it, I think Steve (his lawyer) was more than prepared to use it, just because, as I said, there was a lot of evidence in our favour. There were eyewitnesses at the scene who corroborated my story and the video evidence, the police officer talking to me afterwards. All the evidence pointed exactly to my version of the story, so if we needed it, if… if I had to appear in court, I think Steve was more than prepared to take legal action. But at the end of the day, I didn’t want to have to take legal action against Louisville because the people of Louisville were going to have to pay for the mistakes of their police department, and that doesn’t seem right to me. So at no time did I want to sue them, but if it came to that, I think my lawyer was more than prepared to use it”.
Scheffler also had words for Grayson Murray, recently deceased after committing suicide, and wondered if perhaps they could have done more to prevent the tragedy: “It was a big shock for all of us. It’s been 10 tough days trying to process what happened. I think we all wish we could have done more for him and done things differently. Your mind thinks about what you could have done to prevent this from happening. Grayson, he was a sweet guy, he really was. It was fun to be with him, he worked hard on and off the golf course, he brought out the best in himself. It was a lot of fun getting to know him in the last few months… He was trying to involve his fiancée in the tour life and trying to really be the best version of himself and be a great husband. He wanted to get married and be a father someday. It hurts that he is no longer with us. It’s been a tough week and a half.
To all this, good old Scottie is less than 48 hours away from starting his participation in the Memorial Tournament. Despite all the extracurricular factors that have accompanied him in recent weeks, Scottie is clear: “I’m always ready to play. No matter what the circumstances are off the field, if I show up at a tournament, it’s not to figure. I’m here to play and at the Colonial I already showed that I wanted to win the tournament. That’s why I’m here”, and he also acknowledges that in the last week he has hardly been able to play due to the thunderstorms in Dallas: “I’m very rested”, the Texan has sentenced.
Scheffler, who doesn’t know what it’s like to win at Muirfield Village, will try to get his first Memorial and be able to join his figure to a legend like Jack Nicklaus. For now, two third places (2021 and 2022) endorse, even more, the candidacy for the title next Sunday. We’ll see if he’s really able to turn the page and focus exclusively on what happens within the ropes of the golf course.
