Scottie Scheffler Out After Hand Surgery
If you are a professional golf fan, the number one player in the world is going to be out to start the new year.
The current PGA Player of the Year injured his hand on glass last week, requiring surgery on his right hand.
He’s Out
Any fan of golf never wants to see the top players in the game miss a key tournament, but that will be the case when the field tees off at the Sentry next week.
Scheffler’s manager, Blake Smith, announced that Scheffler had a rather significant injury on his right hand while preparing Christmas dinner, having "sustained a puncture wound … from broken glass.”
He added, "Small glass fragments remained in the palm, which required surgery. He has been told that he should be back to 100% in three to four weeks.”
The Sentry is considered a signature event, one of eight, so missing that tournament is a significant deal for Scheffler. Hopefully, he will be able to make the American Express Tournament, which starts in about three weeks.
Wild Year
This is far from the first time that Scheffler has been in the news for something other than his amazing golf game.
If you recall, Scheffler was the player who had been arrested entering a tournament when he had a run-in with security monitoring the entry to the tournament. Scheffler wound up being arrested and spending some time in the tank.
The incident somehow did not impact his game at all, with Scheffler shooting a 66 that day. For the tournament, however, he finished only 8th.
Scheffler also represented the United States in Paris during the Olympics, winning the gold medal. Overall, for the season, Scheffler posted eight wins.
Big Opportunity
With Scheffler out for at least one tournament, it presents an amazing opportunity for the other top-ranked players to make up some ground on him to try to take the title.
Xander Schauffele is the number two behind Scheffler, but he is way back in points. With Scheffler out, however, especially if Scheffler misses more tournaments, he can make up significant ground.
The player I am most curious about among the top players is Rory McIlroy. McIlroy has been struggling with his putting up until recently, but he does seem to have straightened himself out and back on track.
Having said all that, if Scheffler bounces back from the injury anywhere near close to his form, it will be lights out for everyone else, even if they have a few tournaments in hand on him. I have honestly not seen a player dominate the tour like this since Tiger Woods was in his prime.
