Scottie Scheffler dealt the PGA Tour with a big blow earlier this week, with the news that the world number one is set to miss the start of the season due to a freak accident on Christmas Day.
Scottie Scheffler was set to feature at The Sentry as he looks to somehow try and better what he achieved in 2024. However, Scheffler may come back at The American Express after having to undergo surgery on his hand to remove some glass.
It is a disappointment for Scheffler and those looking ahead to The Sentry. The 28-year-old was exceptional as he went on to win the Hero World Challenge by six earlier this month. And there may be one or two concerns about how the surgery may impact him upon his return to the course.
But perhaps the one crumb of comfort is the fact that Scheffler has so much time to recover ahead of major championship season.
When the world number one missed the Masters due to a ‘freak accident’
Golf has seen its fair share of bizarre injuries over the years, but perhaps one of the most notable events in the last decade involving an injury came on the eve of the 2017 Masters, with the world number one having to withdraw from the event.
Heading into the Masters that year, Dustin Johnson had to be the overwhelming favourite to triumph at Augusta National. The American had already won the Genesis Open, the WGC-Mexico Championship and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in 2017. And he was, going into the week, at the summit of the world rankings.
Unfortunately, Johnson had to withdraw after his final range session before heading to the first tee on Thursday due to an accident the previous day.
“Tatum was on the way home from day care. And it was pouring down rain, so I was going to go move the car, I was just wearing my socks. So I just slipped as I was going down the stairs. And landed ‑ it actually would have been better if it had been the first set of stairs, because I probably would have slid right down it, but it was only three, so I landed right on the bottom, my left elbow is swollen and bruised. I landed on my left side,” he explained that day.
“It’s tough. I’m playing probably the best golf of my career, and I look forward to this tournament every year. And to have a freak accident happen yesterday afternoon after I got back from the course, it’s tough,” he would add.
The decision came so late that many of the world’s best players only found out that Johnson was not teeing it up when they saw his name being removed from the leaderboards around the course.
A what if moment for Dustin Johnson as Scottie Scheffler now faces his own spell on the sidelines
One player who probably would have been delighted to see Johnson not involved was Sergio Garcia, with that week seeing him win his only major title as he overcame Justin Rose in a play-off after the pair finished on nine under par.
Johnson had finished in the top 10 in both of the previous two years, and that run would continue through 2018, 2019 and 2020; of course, culminating with his victory in that final year. Perhaps surprisingly, those remain his only top 10s in 14 appearances at the Masters.
Meanwhile, he would miss the cut at the 2017 US Open and finish in a tie for 54th at The Open Championship. So it is certainly something of a what if moment for Johnson had he not lost his footing at a time when he was, by far, the best player on the planet.
Scheffler will hope his nightmare at Christmas does not derail his momentum heading into 2025.
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