Professional golf has been booming for the past three decades now and there is no sign of the game’s exponential growth slowing down anytime soon.
The main reason for that was Tiger Woods bursting onto the PGA Tour scene in the mid-1990s and since then, the game has become ever more appealing to the younger generation of golf fans.
Numerous high-profile players now take center stage every single week, including the PGA Tour duo of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau.
However, the world of professional golf is just as enticing at times due to some of the controversies certain players cause.
- Read also: What John Daly told a golf fan after smashing his camera into a tree at the Australian Open in 2008
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All professional sports seem to thrive when majorly controversial incidents occur, as more interest is usually generated.
The 3 most jaw-dropping moments in PGA Tour history
As golf fans, we have witnessed some highly controversial moments throughout the history of the PGA Tour.
However, there are three specific incidents which were perhaps more jaw-dropping than others…
Scottie Scheffler’s arrest at the PGA Championship in 2024
Back in 2024, many golf fans and journalists alike were tipping Scheffler to win the calendar year Grand Slam after he comfortably triumphed at The Masters in April.
The following month, Scheffler teed it up at Valhalla Golf Club for the PGA Championship and he got off to an incredible start, holing out for an eagle on his first first hole of the tournament.
The 29-year-old ended up carding a round of 67 on day one before disaster struck ahead of his second round tee time.
Remarkably, Scheffler was arrested in the Valhalla parking lot after failing to stop when instructed to do so by a police officer.
Chaos surrounded Valhalla on Friday morning of the PGA Championship when a man working for the PGA of America was tragically killed after being struck by a shuttle bus.
Scheffler faced charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic (ESPN).
However, it was a huge misunderstanding from both sides in the end, and Scheffler released a statement not long after his arrest.
Scheffler said: “This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.
“Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.“
Incredibly, Scheffler went on to shoot a round of five-under par 66 on day two, having been released from jail just an hour or so before his tee time.
He went on to finish in a tie for 8th that week.
John Daly’s brawl at the NEC World Series of Golf in 1994
The enigmatic John Daly‘s 1994 season began capitulating long before he rocked up in Akron, Ohio, for the NEC World Series of Golf.
After his win at the BellSouth Classic in May, Daly’s form fell off the edge of a cliff.
He was disqualified from the Canon Greater Hartford Open in June, before withdrawing from the New England Classic in July.
Daly then missed three cuts in a row before he headed to Firestone for the NEC World Series of Golf.
The two-time major champion finished the week in Ohio sixth from last after shooting rounds of 69, 73, 70 and 83.
However, it wasn’t his terrible golf on day four that was the talk of the town at Firestone.
That’s because Daly was involved in a fist fight with the father of one of the men he was competing against that week – Jeff Roth.
Daly was fined $20,000 after his unacceptable behavior, and was subsequently banned for the remainder of the 1994 season.
The aptly nicknamed ‘Wild Thing’ spoke out about the incident back in 2020, 26 years after it happened.
He said: “At Firestone one year in ’94 I got heckled by Jeff Roth, a guy who as a club pro, he played in the PGA Championship a few times.
“I was playing with Davis Love and Neal Lancaster and I can’t remember what hole it was, it was kind of a blind drive. I hit last and Davis hit it down the middle and I see this guy holding his arms up, but the marshal had told us to go.
“So the next hole is a driveable par four and they’re walking off the green and I guess Jeff stepped off the back, I hit it on the left side pin high and the next thing you know I’m getting heckled by his parents, the whole way in,.
“I’m going like, ‘what did I do’? I’d put up with it for three or four holes and I went up to a rules official and I said, ‘you need to control those people who are heckling me, I haven’t done anything wrong, I don’t know why they’re doing it’.
“This was at the Firestone North Course, so after your round you’ve got to walk through a huge fan parking lot and this old man, his father, jumps on my back. What are you going to do? I got a good couple of punches in…but (laughter).
“Jeff was 30 yards away going, ‘I’ll kick your butt’, and I said, ‘well come on man, you gonna let this guy do it for you’?“
Rory McIlroy’s ill-advised comments caused a real storm
McIlroy left golf fans genuinely shocked back in 2009, when he made disparaging remarks about the Ryder Cup – the competition which now holds a place so close to his heart.
Rory McIlroy’s comments on the Ryder Cup in 2009
McIlroy has always been someone who speaks from the heart. He rarely shirks difficult questions and because of that, he sometimes finds himself to be the target of fierce criticism.
That’s exactly what happened when the Northern Irishman was a fresh-faced 20-year-old.
The Ryder Cup is highly revered by McIlroy now.
However, it wasn’t always that way, and he stunned the golfing world with his comments on the biennial competition 16 years ago.
“The Ryder Cup is not a huge goal of mine. It’s an exhibition at the end of the day… I’m not going to go running around fist-pumping.”
My word, how things have changed during the 16 years after he made those tone-deaf remarks.
McIlroy’s comments angered Colin Montgomerie – the man who was set to captain the European team the following year at Celtic Manor.
He said: “The Ryder Cup is most definitely not an exhibition. Having played in it, having experienced the emotion and the stress of it, I can assure you of that. Indeed if I manage to lead Europe to victory next year it will be the greatest achievement of my career.“
McIlroy’s opinion on the Ryder Cup has quite obviously changed since then.
Now, the Northern Irishman puts the Ryder Cup right up there with the major championships he has won during his career.
The passion and sheer determination that he shows during Ryder Cup weeks proves just how much the competition means to him.
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