Want a chance to be a part of golfing history? Well, that might be a weird question to ask on an automotive site, but if your answer is yes, or you’re curious why I’m asking, check out Mecum Auctions latest listing.
Going up in December as part of Mecum’s Kansas City auction is what would otherwise be a fairly normal looking 2024 Lexus TX350. Which isn’t to say that this is a bad thing; we’ve driven the TX before and it’s a roomy and luxurious option for families, even with its strange square cupholders. This particular TX is special for one reason and one reason only: The world’s number one ranked golfer was arrested in it.
The story behind the arrest and how this TX is involved is wild. Earlier this year, the 2024 PGA Tour was held in Louisville, Kentucky at the Valhalla Golf Club. On the morning of May 17, Scottie Scheffler – currently the number one ranked golfer in the world who has won The Masters in both ’22 and ’24 and a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics – was behind the wheel of the TX and trying to get into the golf club when he hit traffic and a heavy police presence. The reason: a man had been hit and killed by a shuttle bus right outside of the golf club. Rather than wait like a normal person, Scheffler decided to take things into his own hands and go through everything, as detailed by ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who was on the scene and witnessed everything.
…Scheffler was trying to drive around the crash scene on a median. A police officer instructed Scheffler to stop, but Scheffler continued to drive about 10 to 20 yards toward the entrance.
At one point, an officer attached himself to the side of Scheffler’s car. Scheffler stopped his car as he turned into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club.
After about 20 to 30 seconds, Scheffler rolled down his window to talk to the officer. The officer grabbed Scheffler’s arm to pull him out of the vehicle, according to Darlington. The officer reached inside the vehicle to open the door, and once Scheffler was pulled out, he was pushed against the car and placed in handcuffs.
Scheffler was arrested and spotted Darlington near the entrance to the club. That’s when Darlington says Scheffler asked him for help. Before he could say anything, police told Darlington to back up. “You need to get out of the way. Right now, he’s going to jail, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” the officer told Darlington.
According to to ESPN who obtained a copy of the police report (that same report gets included in the auction of the TX), the officer that held on to the TX while Scheffler was driving sustained some pretty serious injures after being dragged, like an abrasion on one of his wrists. He was taken to the hospital and treated. Scheffler was taken and charged with “second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.” He was released later that morning without bail and managed to make it back to the club in time for the 10:08 a.m. tee off.
So why was Scheffler in such a hurry? His lawyer, Steven Romines, said he was just trying to make it to the gym and was “unaware” that there was a traffic incident. The traffic, police lights and the officer that was hanging onto the TX yelling for him to stop while wearing a bright orange traffic vest apparently weren’t enough of a reminder. In a statement, Scheffler called the whole thing a misunderstanding “of what I thought I was being asked to do” saying that it was never his intention to ignore the officers instructions.
Now, months after the incident, you can own the very vehicle that was involved. If anything that happened was important or historical enough for you, you can bid on the Lexus TX350 when it crosses the auction block on Saturday, December 7.
