Charges dropped against Scottie Scheffler from Louisville arrest - ESPN

Criminal charges have been dropped against world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler after the Jefferson County Attorney's Office in Louisville, Kentucky, said it would not pursue the case that stemmed from a traffic incident outside the PGA Championship earlier this month.

Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell asked for the charges to be dismissed with prejudice — meaning they can't be filed again in the future — during a court hearing Wednesday.

«Based upon the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler,» O'Connell said. «Mr. Scheffler's characterization that this was a 'big misunderstanding' is corroborated by the evidence. The evidence we reviewed supports the conclusion that Detective [Bryan] Gillis was concerned for public safety at the scene when he initiated contact with Mr. Scheffler. However, Mr. Scheffler's actions and the evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses.»

Scheffler, who was not present at the hearing, was arrested May 17 by Gillis, a Louisville Metro Police detective who alleged that Scheffler's SUV accelerated and dragged him to the ground, causing pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee. The golfer was trying to drive around traffic outside Valhalla Golf Club that had backed up after a man was struck and killed by a shuttle bus earlier that morning.

Scheffler, 27, was booked and released less than two hours before his second-round tee time. He had faced four charges, including felony second-degree assault of a police officer.

«We've been going back and forth since it happened,» Steve Romines, Scheffler's attorney, told ESPN. «I had