With Scottie Scheffler suffering a bizarre Christmas Day injury to rule himself out of The Sentry in January, it’s once again opened Pandora’s Box in terms of looking at the strangest injuries in sport.
Scheffler was meant to tee it up in Hawaii to get his 2025 season underway but will now miss the event due to an unknown hand issue suffered on the 25th December.
Scheffler will now aim for the American Express to make his 2025 debut while the PGA Tour will be disappointed the world number one isn’t at The Sentry.
Of course, Scheffler is not the first sportsperson to sustain an odd injury. Soccer players, NFL and NBA stars and more have all had bizarre situations rule them out in the past.
And when it golf, the sport isn’t immune either. In fact, Viktor Hovland broke his toe on a bed frame just this weekend, adding himself to the list of famed bizarre injuries.
But is Hovland’s the oddest of them all? Well, we here at The Golfing Gazette have looked back at FIVE of the most bizarre injuries in golf.
The 5 most bizarre injuries ever sustained in golf
Thomas Levet’s broken leg
It’s not necessarily the broken leg that is the issue when it comes to Thomas Levet but more how it came about.
Levet was celebrating a win at the French Open in 2011 when he followed the time old tradition of chucking one’s self into the water.
However, Levet wasn’t so lucky with his landing as he crashed into some rocks under the water and broke his leg in the process. It then ruled him out of the British Open, having a nightmare consequence on his career at the time.
Looking back at this one, Levet was actually lucky it was just leg and nothing more serious.
Sam Torrance’s Ryder Cup exit
In terms of an injury having dire consequences at an actual event, Sam Torrance arguably qualifies for the most unfortunate and bizarre injury.
Torrance was playing at the Ryder Cup in 1993 but after an episode of sleep-walking, Torrance ran into a stray plant pot and in doing so, suffered injuries to his chest and toe.
Remarkably, Torrance was forced to pull out of the singles match on the Sunday. His match with Lanny Wadkins was halved, giving the US a crucial half point on their way to a 15-13 victory.
Rory McIlroy’s soccer mishap
When it comes to star names, Rory McIlroy is the big fish on this list and his inclusion comes by way of thanks to a soccer match with some pals.
McIlroy injured both ankles and was left on crutches after a friendly kickabout with friends saw him injured.
McIlroy missed around three months of the 2015 season thanks to the injury.
Jeff Guan’s amateur nightmare
While 2024 ends with Hovland and Scheffler suffering injury, it’s worth mentioning the nightmare situation young player Jeff Guan has found himself in.
Guan was hit by a stray shot during a pro-am event over in Australia.
At the time, Guan’s career was very much hanging in the balance. At just 20, Guan has needed extensive treatment to repair the injury and it remains to be seen if he’ll surface in 2025 to rebuild his career.
Darren Clarke ends his Masters hopes
Darren Clarke has had a hugely successful career but after being in the peak of his powers around the 2011/2012 mark, Clarke very much fancied himself for the winning the Masters.
Clarke had won The Open in 2011 and was going into Augusta as one of the players tipped to make a big impact.
However, disaster struck for the Northern Irishman as he suffered a serious hamstring injury while playing tennis with his children on vacation.
Clarke put himself through plenty of work to try and prepare for the Masters but ultimately fell short in his battle for fitness and was forced to pull out of the event.
Sadly, Clarke never got back to his best and that Open win in 2011 was his last win in golf.
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