“It was a tragedy” - Austin Eckroat, other PGA Tour pros react to Scottie Scheffler’s arrest and other ‘weird’ incidents at PGA Championship

It was a “weird morning” on Friday, according to Austin Eckroat. The PGA Tour pro got stuck in traffic about a mile and a half from the Valhalla Golf Club while on his way to the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship. However, the traffic didn’t stop him. The 25-year-old got out of his car and walked the distance to the course.

It's pertinent to note that the traffic was caused by a shuttle bus accident that led to the death of a PGA Championship vendor. Eckroat addressed the development in his post-round press conference and called it a “tragedy.” Meanwhile, he also took time to comment on Scottie Scheffler’s arrest, unrelated to the accident, and said that it was a “weird incident.”

Austin Eckroat said on Friday, as quoted by Golfweek:

“It was a weird morning. I was already on my way out here when we received the text that there was a delay. I got to the golf course, two miles away, and it took me about 30 minutes… I ended up getting out of my car and walking a mile and a half and having my wife drive the car in. Something I’ve never experienced. It was a tragedy followed by a weird incident.”

It's pertinent to note that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was arrested from the entrance of Valhalla on Friday morning after he allegedly attempted to drive past a police officer.

The golfer, who was released from the police station about an hour before his tee time, later dubbed it as a “misunderstanding.”

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PGA Tour pros react to ‘weird’ Friday morning at PGA Championship

The fatal shuttle bus accident and Scheffler’s arrest made it a busy Friday morning.

Several pros teeing up second round at the PGA Championship weren’t amused with the developments. The golfers admitted that they resorted to different methods to skip the traffic and make it to the course on time for their tee-off.

Min Woo Lee entered Valhalla by following a courtesy car around the traffic, while many of his colleagues were still stuck in the congestion. The golfer said that it was a “weird” and “very sad” morning.

Collin Morikawa noted that he “talked” his way in. The 27-year-old added that he was “probably among the last few players to get in without any chaos.”

A few golfers were more concerned about Scottie Scheffler’s arrest than the traffic situation at Valhalla.

Speaking from the course, Harris English said that it could have been anyone in Scheffler’s situation, as they all took the same route. He dubbed the morning “very unfortunate” and “terrible.”

Meanwhile, Mark Hubbard, who led the PGA Championship field on Friday for a while, said the “saddest part” of the event was Scheffler’s arrest. He said that the vendor’s death was the “real tragedy” but added it wasn’t “Scottie’s fault at all.”