Table of Contents
A mild-mannered, even-tempered family man, Scottie Scheffler can now count himself among the bad boys of his sport after his predawn arrest at Valhalla Golf Club.
Well, he’s not really a ‘bad boy’ so much as a victim of circumstance. Scheffler says a misunderstanding with police led him to drag an officer who clung to the golfer’s vehicle in the early hours before Friday’s second round of the PGA Championship.
These police officers were there to direct the flow of traffic after a bus hit and killed a pedestrian. Scheffler attempted to weave through stopped traffic and did not recognize that the officers were telling him to stop.
He was taken from his vehicle, handcuffed and booked into a Louisville police station. He has been charged with felony second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and ignoring the signals of an officer directing traffic.
But Scheffler is far from the worst offender on the list of golfers who have had run-ins with authorities.
Scottie Scheffler had an early morning confrontation with police in Valhalla on Friday.
Scheffler was charged with multiple counts, including felony second-degree assault on a police officer.
Scheffler fans arrived at the PGA Championship wearing ‘Free Scottie’ t-shirts
Several major winners have previously been jailed for reckless behavior, from public intoxication to driving under the influence.
Others have been charged with more violent crimes and sentenced to serious prison terms.
DailyMail.com takes a look at golf’s “bad boys” and what they have done to earn such a reputation.
Juan Daly
We start with a man who was once arrested after being found drunk outside Hooters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Daly has admitted that drinking has been one of the biggest struggles of his life, stating that it started between the ages of 8 and 10.
Later in his life, he admitted that much of his struggle had to do with having an alcoholic and abusive father.
He was hospitalized four times for alcohol poisoning between 1989 and 1993 before spending a period in a rehabilitation center.
Focusing on hamburgers and sweets to reduce his need for alcohol didn’t last long before he started drinking beer in 1996.
His drinking problem continued through the rest of the 1990s and early 2000s. At one point, his swing coach, Butch Harmon, quit, saying, “The most important thing in (his) life is to get drunk.”
That led to the incident on Oct. 26, 2008, where Winston-Salem police arrested him. While he was not arrested or charged with rape, officers released his mugshot to the media, earning him negative publicity.
Daly then pledged to stop drinking alcohol and has remained committed to that ever since.
John Daly’s nasty drinking habit caught up with him when this mug shot was taken in 2007.
These days, Daly has been living healthier and hasn’t been drinking like he used to.
tiger forest
The best golfer of his generation, and arguably the best of all time, has earned a bad boy image in more ways than one.
Woods, a notorious womanizer, lost several sponsors in 2009 after it was revealed he had been involved in extramarital affairs.
After a famous accident in front of his home in Florida, he received a ticket for reckless driving and was treated for facial lacerations.
In 2010, Woods apologized for his actions and gave a televised statement saying that he had undergone a 45-day rehabilitation program in December 2009. In August 2010, he and his wife, Elin Nordegren, divorced.
Woods remained out of the eyes of the law for a time until May 2017, when he was arrested around 3:00 a.m. for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They found him asleep in his car, which was on a traffic lane with the engine running.
He admitted to taking prescription medications and not realizing how they would interact.
After participating in an intensive out-of-state program, Woods pleaded guilty and participated in a program for first-time DUI offenders. At a second arraignment, Woods was given one year of probation, fined $250, and ordered to submit to 50 hours of community service as well as periodic drug testing.
In 2021, Woods survived a serious rollover accident in which he was found to be driving twice the speed limit. No charges were filed, but Woods suffered multiple leg injuries that required surgery.
Tiger Woods was arrested for DUI in May 2017 after admitting to using drugs.
Woods has since relatively cleaned up the bad boy image he had in the early 2010s.
Angel Cabrera
The 2009 Masters champion was the only person on this list to spend a significant amount of time in prison due to his crimes.
Cabrera was convicted of attacking, threatening and harassing his ex-partner Cecilia Torres Maná in his native Argentina.
He was arrested in Rio de Janeiro in January 2021 after Interpol sent a ‘red notice’ to local authorities stating that he had left Argentina without authorization. He was extradited to Argentina that June.
A month later, he was sentenced to two years in prison for assault, robbery and illegal intimidation. The charges were initially filed by Torres Maná, but she was joined by her ex-wife, Silva Rivadero, and another former romantic partner, Micaela Escudero. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
In November 2022, Cabrera was convicted of another assault and sentenced to an additional two years and four months in prison.
But just last August, after serving all of his first sentence and only part of his second sentence, Cabrera was released.
He has since been reinstated to the PGA Tour.
Ángel Cabrera spent just over two years in prison for assault, theft and intimidation
Cabrera fled his home country at one point, but was captured and later extradited.
