Scottie Scheffler Arrest

Overview

The Scottie Scheffler Arrest refers to the detainment of American professional golfer Scottie Scheffler who was arrested by police at the 2024 PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Scottie Scheffler memes trended en masse after the event on Twitter / X and elsewhere, mostly because it was unclear why Scheffler was detained in full. Reports said that Scheffler was put in handcuffs after bypassing a police barricade. He was booked on four charges including assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic. Officers were unaware that he was in the tournament and considered to be the No. 1 golfer in the world. Scheffler's mugshot also trended in memes posted on the day.

Background

On the morning of May 17th, 2024, ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington posted "Breaking News" to X^[1] regarding "World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow," receiving over 15,000 likes in three hours. Scheffler was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky, amid the 2024 PGA Championship. Soon after, Darlington quoted ^[2] his tweet with a video he took of Scheffler being detained by Louisville police, receiving over 9 million views and 12,000 likes in three hours (shown below).

Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024

Later, Darlington appeared on ESPN's SportsCenter to recount the events leading up to Scheffler's arrest. When tweeted by X^[3] user @KevinNegandhi, the segment gained over 1.4 million views and 4,500 likes in an hour (shown below).

Full details on Scottie Scheffler’s arrest, excellent reporting by @JeffDarlington.

pic.twitter.com/GnRFR9gEgS

— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) May 17, 2024

Scheffler was booked and processed on the morning of May 17th, 2024, on four charges, including assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.^[4] As part of his booking, Scheffler's mugshot was taken (shown below).^[4]

Online Reaction

Viral memes and reactions concerning Scheffler's arrest surfaced en masse on May 17th, 2024. For instance, X^[5] user @nrbucholtz tweeted a crudely-Photoshopped image of fellow golfer and tournament leader Xander Schauffele as a Louisville police officer, writing, "Breaking News: I have obtained a picture of the officer that arrested Scottie Scheffler," gaining over 8,400 likes in two hours (shown below, left).

Also on May 17th, X^[6] user @rgfray1 tweeted the Tiger Woods 'Big Dog' meme, captioned, "Tiger Woods picking up Scottie Scheffler from the Louisville Police Department #freescottie," receiving over 57,000 likes in two hours (shown below, right).

Similar memes and discourse surfaced on Reddit, evident in Redditor^[7] SlopingGiraffe's post to /r/golf, who shared Jeff Darlington's X^[2] video, receiving 1,000 upvotes in three hours.

In the comment section, other Redditors shared memes, like one comment posted by Redditor^[8] Worf69 that included Scheffler's mugshot, captioned, "This is about to be on shirts and golf towels everywhere." The comment gained over 290 upvotes in an hour (shown below, left).

Also on May 17th, 2024, Redditor^[9] tkh0812 shared a meme to /r/golf, showing Scheffler with a teardrop tattoo, captioned, "Scottie on the 1st tee today," receiving over 1,200 upvotes in three hours (shown below, right). The meme was originally posted by X^[10] user @Tour_Junkies, gaining over 17,000 likes during the same timeframe.

Various Examples

That Louisville police officer learning who Scottie Scheffler is pic.twitter.com/T3fmelca9v

— Clint Lamb (@ClintRLamb) May 17, 2024

Rory driving past Scottie Scheffler this morning pic.twitter.com/dVhDBDpN4p

— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) May 17, 2024

Search Interest

External References