PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Scottie Scheffler was making an attempt to make do-it-yourself ravioli on Christmas Day — with restricted gear in a rental residence — when he realized he’d made a severe mistake. He determined to make use of an empty wine glass to form and slice his pasta dough.
“I had my hand on prime of it and it broke, which, facet be aware, I’ve heard nothing however horror tales since this occurred about wine glasses, so watch out,” Scheffler stated Tuesday. “Even in the event you’re like me and also you don’t drink wine, you’ve received to be actual cautious with wine glasses.”
The stem of a wine glass stabbed Scheffler within the higher palm of his proper hand. That’s the crux of the incident that led to a surgical process and took the 2024 PGA Tour Participant of the Yr out of his first two tournaments of the season, The Sentry in Maui and the American Categorical in Palm Springs.
The No. 1 participant on the earth is making his first event begin of 2025 this week on the Pebble Seaside Professional-Am, which begins on Thursday. It comes after a two-week lengthy hiatus from golf and bodily exercise, in addition to a gentle strategy of easing again into coaching and enjoying. That interval was irritating for a participant who thrives in competitors. Scheffler doesn’t like to sit down again and watch.
“It’s a kind of offers the place instantly after it occurred, I used to be mad at myself as a result of I used to be like gosh, that’s so silly, however you simply don’t give it some thought once you’re within the second,” he continued. “Yeah, positively been somewhat extra cautious doing stuff at residence.”
Instantly after the incident, a buddy of Scheffler’s who occurs to be a surgeon got here to the rescue and helped cease the bleeding. The following day rolled round and the wound was not open, however the ache remained, and Scheffler felt a common lack of vary of movement. He determined to succeed in out to a hand physician he’d labored with on a thumb damage whereas in faculty. They opted for surgical procedure. Scheffler stated that he doesn’t count on his proper hand to incur any long-term injury.
Scheffler spent his restoration time reflecting and analyzing an historic season that included seven wins on the PGA Tour — probably the most since Tiger Woods received seven in 2007 — plus an Olympic gold medal and the Hero World Problem. He re-watched movie of his event rounds and took his thoughts again to these cruise-control moments in competitors, paying attention to each his swing positions and demeanor.
“There’s just a few tournaments I seemed again at the place the factor that caught out probably the most was that I by no means actually overreacted to stuff, I sort of stayed in it and sort of waited for my second to get sizzling,” Scheffler stated.
Now the Texan hopes to renew the place he left off in 2024, starting this week at Pebble Seaside after which at Spyglass for the tour’s second signature occasion of the season. Eight of the highest 10 gamers within the OWGR are right here on the Monterey Peninsula, and a wholesome Scheffler is able to get again to beating all of them.
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(Photograph: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Photographs for The Showdown)