The image of Scottie Scheffler being led away in handcuffs is the most astonishing of the sporting year... a devout Christian, he is the last man you'd expect to see in a mugshot

It was a little after 10am here when Scottie Scheffler sliced his first shot of the day into the rough. If that drive was out of character, then it had nothing on the benchmark he had set in his car four hours earlier.

The footage of the world No 1, both in golf and placidity, being led away in handcuffs by Louisville police will endure among the most astonishing moments of the sporting year.

That his longest, strangest day ended with him firmly in contention to win the US PGA Championship was remarkable in an altogether different kind of way. He has often been credited with having the most unflappable mind in the game, but compiling a loop of 66 after being charged with assaulting a police officer, and then warming up in a jail cell, took the theme to new places.

'As far as best rounds of my career, I would say it was pretty good,' he said. 'I definitely never imagined going to jail, and I never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times for sure.'

By then, he was dressed in a white sweater, which was worth noting only for the fact he was stood for a prison mugshot in orange scrubs just a couple of hours before he was due on the first tee.

To chart the timeline of his Friday at Valhalla Golf Club is to undertake a journey involving a sportsman whose greatest dramas to date have centred on his putting stroke.

The crux of the matter relates to what he called a 'big misunderstanding' before 6am when, according to the police report, he failed to comply with the demands of a cop managing the traffic in the wake of a fatal collision between a shuttle bus and a pedestrian outside the gates.

The escalation point was Scheffler's attempt to drive away with the officer, Bryan Gillis, still leaning in through his window, which caused Gillis to be dragged alongside the vehicle, leaving him in need of hospital treatment for cuts to his knees and wrist.

The footage of Scheffler, handcuffed and pleading for help, was beamed around the world upon his arrest at 6.01am.

From there, he confirmed he was put in a cell at a local police station, released at 8.40am, back on the grounds of Valhalla at 9.12am, swinging on the driving range at 9.35am, and on the tee by 10.08am. 

He would card six birdies and one bogey in progressing from four under par to nine under.

At the time of going to press, only Collin Morikawa at 11 under had a better seat in the clubhouse. 

Scheffler was joined by Belgium's Thomas Detry, with Rory McIlroy (six under through eight) and overnight leader Xander Schauffele (12 under after nine) still on the course.

It remains to be seen how this concludes for Scheffler, both in a sporting context and any legal ramifications - the 27-year-old will be arraigned on Tuesday, where he will hear four charges against him. 

The most serious of those is the felony offence of second-degree assault on a police officer, but Scheffler is under the impression it will be resolved 'fairly quickly'.

In addressing the media, Scheffler said: 'First of all, my sympathies go out to the family of Mr Mills (John Mills, the pedestrian who passed away). I can't imagine what they're going through this morning.

'My situation will get handled. It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding. I can't comment on any of the specifics of it.'

He was more forthcoming on the rundown of his day, saying: 'I feel like my head is still spinning. I can't really explain what happened this morning. I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell and that was a first for me.

'I was just sitting there waiting and I started going through my warmup, because I felt like there was a chance I may be able to still come out here and play. I was pretty rattled to say the least.

'I couldn't tell you how long I was in the cell. I wasn't wearing a watch or didn't have access to my phone, but the officers at the jail were tremendous.'

He added: 'Like I said, it was just a huge misunderstanding this morning. I think that'll get resolved fairly quickly.'

That Scheffler is at the heart of such a situation has given it a surreal edge. In recent seasons he has been depicted, quite accurately, as the dead-eyed assassin with the aw-shucks personality; a devout Christian who has no mercy for his rivals on the course and never veers towards controversy off it.

Indeed, it is little exaggeration to suggest he has threatened to become the most dominant force since Tiger Woods, albeit with none of the accompanying news stories.

Coming into this tournament, the only narrative around him was whether the arrival of his first child this month might knock him off his game. That wasn't on show during his opening 67 and going one better after his trip to jail was absurd even by his standards. 

Barring a three-putt bogey on the 11th, his second hole having started on the back nine, he was imperious amid the sort of noise with which he is entirely unfamiliar.