Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 season came to an end earlier this month at the Hero World Challenge and, unsurprisingly, it finished with him lifting yet another trophy into the air.
His title defense in the Bahamas in front of Tiger Woods was Scheffler’s ninth victory of the year, as he once again cemented himself as the world’s No. 1 golfer. Despite all of his success though, it is fair to say it has not been all plane sailing for the New Jersey native throughout 2024.
The latest chapter in his whirlwind year dropped on Friday after it was revealed he will miss the first four weeks of PGA Tour competition in 2025 after suffering a freak accident on Christmas Day (more on that to come).
Back to the start of the year though, and the first of his nine victories came at one of the PGA Tour’s most lucrative events at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. With his season now up and running, Scheffler was then crowned the Players champion in Florida, becoming the first back-to-back champion in the history of the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
And from then on, there was no stopping the world No. 1. A change to a mallet putter – under the recommendation of Rory McIlroy – appeared to iron out his only real weakness, and less than a month after his victory at TPC Sawgrass, he was a two-time champion once more, this time at Augusta National.
Scheffler’s robotic-style play saw him ease to a four-shot victory around the iconic Georgia course to ensure he became Masters champion for the second time in three years. Many would forgive the world No. 1 a week off after clinching the game’s biggest prize, but Scheffler had other plans.
He teed it up at the RBC Heritage just a week later, and in doing so won his second title in the space of seven days after prevailing at Hilton Head. His next start would come less than a month later, as he made his return on the major stage at the PGA Championship.
This time around though, Scheffler made headlines for different reasons. To the shock of the golfing world, the Masters champion was arrested upon arriving at Valhalla Golf Club for his second-round tee time, after claims he ignored traffic instructions following an accident earlier that morning.
Scheffler was detained by police and taken to a local station where he was forced to wait in a holding cell amid further questions. Meanwhile, the world No. 1’s second-round tee time was growing ever closer, and after finally being released he hurried back to the Kentucky course to make it just in time.
In typical Scheffler fashion, he followed up his run-in with the law by shooting a five-under-par 66, before eventually finishing the week in a tie for eighth. Three weeks later, however, the 28-year-old secured victory No. 3 of the campaign, prevailing at the Memorial in perfect preparation for the upcoming U.S. Open.
While he failed to find his best golf at Pinehurst No. 2, Scheffler only had to wait another week before becoming a winner again, this time at the Travelers, where he defeated his good pal Tom Kim in a dramatic playoff. In July, his brilliance was tamed by the testing conditions of Royal Troon at The Open Championship, but his trip to Europe was far from wasted.
Two weeks later, Scheffler got his hands on one of sport’s most coveted prizes, an Olympic gold medal. The importance of the Olympics in men’s professional golf has been questioned by many following its lengthy spell away, but the emotions of Scheffler when having the gold medal played around his neck in Paris showed exactly what it means to the world’s best.
There was still time for more success too, as a strong finish to the campaign saw him claim the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup for the very first time. His return in December at the Hero came with more success, but the month has since ended on a sour note.
Earlier this week, Scheffler’s manager Blake Smith confirmed the world No. 1 golfer sustained an injury on Christmas Day after a piece of glass was left stuck in his hand. This will see him miss the beginning of the 2025 campaign on the PGA Tour, but there is no doubt he will be raring to add more trophies to his cabinet when he is able to make his return.
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