PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Scottie Scheffler was making an attempt to make home made ravioli on Christmas Day — with restricted tools 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 high 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 if you happen to’re like me and also you don’t drink wine, you’ve acquired 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 12 months out of his first two tournaments of the season, The Sentry in Maui and the American Specific in Palm Springs.
The No. 1 participant on the planet is making his first event begin of 2025 this week on the Pebble Seashore Professional-Am, which begins on Thursday. It comes after a two-week lengthy hiatus from golf and bodily exercise, in addition to a gradual strategy of easing again into coaching and taking part in. That interval was irritating for a participant who thrives in competitors. Scheffler doesn’t like to take a seat again and watch.
“It’s a type 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 whenever you’re within the second,” he continued. “Yeah, undoubtedly been just a little extra cautious doing stuff at residence.”
Instantly after the incident, a pal 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 now not open, however the ache remained, and Scheffler felt a basic lack of vary of movement. He determined to succeed in out to a hand physician he’d labored with on a thumb harm whereas in faculty. They opted for surgical procedure. Scheffler stated that he doesn’t anticipate his proper hand to incur any long-term harm.
Scheffler spent his restoration time reflecting and analyzing an historic season that included seven wins on the PGA Tour — essentially 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, being attentive to each his swing positions and demeanor.
“There’s a couple of tournaments I regarded again at the place the factor that caught out essentially the most was that I by no means actually overreacted to stuff, I type of stayed in it and type 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 Seashore 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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(Picture: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Pictures for The Showdown)