Mild mannered, even tempered family man Scottie Scheffler can now count himself among the bad boys of his sport after his pre-dawn arrest at Valhalla Golf Club.
Well, not really a ‘bad boy’ more than the victim of circumstance. Scheffler says that a misunderstanding with police led to him dragging an officer who clung to the golfer’s vehicle in the early hours before Friday’s second round of the PGA Championship.
Those police were there to direct the flow of traffic after a pedestrian had been hit and killed by a shuttle bus. Scheffler tried going around the stalled traffic and failed to recognize officers were telling him to stop.
He was taken out of his vehicle, put in handcuffs and booked at a Louisville police station. He’s been charged with felony second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.
But Scheffler is far from the worst offender in the list of golfers who have had run-ins with law enforcement.
Scottie Scheffler had an early-morning run-in with law enforcement at Valhalla on Friday
Scheffler was charged with multiple counts, including felony second-degree assault of a cop
Fans of Scheffler’s arrived at the PGA Championship wearing ‘Free Scottie’ T-shirts
Multiple major winners have been booked in jails before for reckless behavior – ranging from public intoxication to driving under the influence.
Others have been charged with more violent crimes and sentenced to serious prison time.
DailyMail.com takes a look at the ‘bad boys’ of golf and what they’ve done to earn such a reputation.
John Daly
We start off with a man who was once taken into custody after being found drunk outside a Hooters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Daly has admitted that drinking has been one of his life’s biggest struggles – claiming that he started between 8-10 years old.
Later in life, he admitted that a lot of his struggle had to do with having an alcoholic father who was abusive.
He was hospitalized four times for alcohol poisoning between 1989-1993 before he did a stint in a rehab facility.
Turning his attention to burgers and candy to reduce his need for alcohol didn’t last long before he started drinking beer in 1996.
His drinking problem continued throughout the rest of the 1990s and into the early 2000s. At one point, his swing coach Butch Harmon quit, saying, ‘the most important thing in (his) life is getting drunk.’
That led to the incident on October 26, 2008 where police in Winston-Salem took him in. While he wasn’t arrested or charged with a violation, officers released his mug shot to the media garnering him negative publicity.
Daly then committed to stop drinking alcohol and has stayed committed to that ever since.
John Daly’s nasty drinking habit caught up with him when he had this mug shot taken in 2007
These days, Daly has been living healthier and hasn’t been drinking like he used to
Tiger Woods
The greatest golfer of his generation – and possibly the greatest of all time – has garnered himself a bad boy image in more ways than one.
A notorious womanizer, Woods lost multiple sponsors back in 2009 after it was revealed that he had been involved in extramarital affairs.
After a famous crash outside his Florida home, he received a ticket for careless driving and was treated for facial lacerations.
In 2010, Woods apologized for his actions and gave a televised statement saying he had gone through a 45-day rehab program in December of 2009. In August of 2010, he and his wife – Elin Nordegren – divorced.
Woods stayed out of the eyes of the law for a while until May of 2017 – when he was arrested at around 3:00am for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was found asleep in his car – which was in a traffic lane with its engine running.
He admitted to taking prescription drugs and didn’t realize how it would interact.
After taking part in an out-of-state intensive program, Woods pled guilty and took part in a first-time DUI offender program. At a second arraignment, Woods was given a year probation, was fined $250, and was ordered to undergo 50 hours of community service as well as regular drug tests.
In 2021, Woods survived a serious rollover crash where he was found to be driving twice the speed limit. No charges were filed, but Woods sustained multiple leg injuries requiring surgery.
Tiger Woods was arrested for a DUI back in May of 2017 after admitting to taking drugs
Since then, Woods has relatively cleaned up the bad boy image that he had in the early 2010’s
Angel Cabrera
The 2009 Masters champion was the only person on this list to spend significant jail time due to his crimes.
Cabrera was convicted of assaulting, threatening, and harassing his former partner Cecilia Torres Mana in his native Argentina.
He was arrested in Rio de Janeiro in January of 2021 after Interpol sent out a ‘red notice’ to local authorities that he left Argentina without authorization. He was extradited to Argentina that June.
A month later, he was sentenced to two years in prison for assault, theft, and illegal intimidation. The charges were initially brought forth by Torres Mana but she was joined by his ex-wife, Silva Rivadero, and another former romantic partner Micaela Escudero. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
In November of 2022, Cabrera was convicted of another assault and sentenced to an additional two years and four months in prison.
But just this past August, after serving all of his first sentence and only part of his second sentence, Cabrera was released.
He has since been reinstated on the PGA Tour.
Angel Cabrera spent a little over two years in prison on assault, theft, and intimidation charges
Cabrera fled his home country at one point, but was captured and then extradited back