Scottie Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, has hailed his man’s ‘incredible character’ a year on from that dramatic arrest at the PGA Championship.
Scheffler could go from jail misery to Quail glory in the matter of just 12 months on Sunday.
The two-time Masters champion has one hand on the 2025 PGA Championship title following his stunning display at Quail Hollow on Saturday.
His supreme round of 65 has put him in a commanding position going into Sunday’s finale and he looks destined to claim a third major title.
It’s in stark contrast to last year’s event when Scheffler found himself hand-cuffed, bundled into a police car and placed in a jail cell.
Following a tragic and fatal car crash outside Valhalla Golf Club, Scheffler become embroiled in an ugly incident with Kentucky authorities.
Just before he was scheduled to tee off for Friday’s second round, the argument saw Scheffler taken downtown and put in orange prisoner overalls with the now-iconic images quickly circulating around the world.
He was quickly released and all charges were soon dropped but the incident was shocking for all involved.
Scott, who has been on Scheffler’s bag for all of his recent successes, has reflected on it as his man gets ready to finally banish all memories of the arrest and claim glory at the PGA Championship this year.
During his now-traditional ‘Sunday Sermon’ before the final round at Quail Hollow, Scott said: “Last year as Scottie was travelling to the golf course on Friday, he got arrested and a crazy story unfolded.
“One of my favourite quotes is from Mike Tyson and it goes like this – ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth’.
“The question is, once you get punched in the mouth, what are you going to do about it?
“What Scottie did that day and what he’s done going forward, was absolutely incredible.
“The first thing he did, is he didn’t overreact, he didn’t get emotional, he just did whatever the officer asked him to do.
“He didn’t name drop, he didn’t get angry, he just said ‘I’ll do whatever you guys ask’.
“When he got out of jail, he sought wise counsel, something many of us need to do.
“What happened after that was just incredible. If you just act in good character, God will take care of the rest. Scottie showed incredible resilience and incredible faith in God.
“Looking back on the story, you see the police officer had some bad character and you look at Scottie’s character and it shined bright and that’s because he made wise choices.
“We can learn from this story. You are going to get punched in the mouth but take a moment, take a breath and think, ‘what is the wise decision here’.
“You’ll then have a better story to tell and can even have a laugh about it.”
Scheffler and Scott hold a three-shot lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren going into the final round of the 2025 PGA Championship.
Scheffler has won on each of the last seven occasions that he has held the 54-hole lead and also converted from that position at both of his Masters victories.
Another win today would bring him the closure he deserves following that shocking incident at Valhalla a year ago.
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