Scottie Scheffler hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in 2025, but he is certainly showing promising signs as the Masters approaches.
Scheffler has been backed to contend at the Masters, a tournament the American won in both 2022 and 2024.
World number one Scheffler says he is missing Jon Rahm ahead of the major championship, having received the green jacket from the Spaniard at Augusta National last time out.
Scheffler emerged victorious at the 2024 Masters with a four shot win over Ludvig Aberg, having won by three shots over Rory McIlroy in 2022.
McIlroy incidentally has been crowned the latest PGA Tour champion, winning the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass last week.
Scottie Scheffler ‘excited’ about improvements he is making ahead of the Masters
The Northern Irishman took the title off Scheffler, with the 2024 Players Championship having represented one of his seven wins in 2024.
The American is yet to win in 2025, but was forced to miss the early stage of the season after undergoing hand surgery.
Asked in a recent press conference at Augusta if he thinks the injury has set him back given that he had two wins at this stage last year, he replied: “You know, I think it would be silly to say that it didn’t set me back a little bit because I had to take a good amount of time off.
“I’m a right-handed golfer. So any sort of injury you have to that hand, especially a surgical one is going to have some sort of effect.
“So I think it would be silly to say that it didn’t set me back a little bit. But at the end of the day, you know, it’s one of those things where you know, accidents happen.
“I’m going to live my life. I can’t live in a bubble. You know we were literally making Christmas dinner, and you know, sustained an injury. That’s the stuff that happens.
“So do I regret anything? Obviously not. Did it set me back a little bit? Maybe some. But each day, my hand continues to improve.
“My body continues to get back to where it needs to be, and I think my swing is coming around, as well. So I’m definitely excited about the improvements that I’m making.
| Year | Tournament | Score | Margin | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Masters Tournament | −10 (69-67-71-71=278) | 3 strokes | Rory McIlroy |
| 2024 | Masters Tournament (2) | −11 (66-72-71-68=277) | 4 strokes | Ludvig Aberg |
“As you said, the results this year have been decent. I feel like I’m really close to playing some really nice golf again.
“I’ve got another good week of prep here at home, and I felt like we learned a lot last week at Sawgrass. And I’m really excited.
“I got back in the gym pretty quick yesterday. Went out and hit some balls as well. I’m definitely excited about the things that we kind of figured out at the moment.”
Scottie Scheffler ‘learning a lot’ after hand injury disrupts PGA Tour season
Having cut his hand on glass while preparing Christmas dinner, the world number one was forced to go under the knife, but has since made a positive return to golf.
He has now made five appearances this season, making the cut in all five tournaments and posting two top 10 finishes.
Asked to confirm if his hand wasn’t ‘a hundred percent’ upon that return, he responded: “Just like getting the strength back in the hand and all that stuff.
“Like I have absolutely no pain in the hand but getting the full total range of motion out of my hand is a little bit of different story.
“Just because you’re not able to use a certain muscle for almost a month’s time, like my hand, I wasn’t able to really use. You have to build back strength in that hand.
“And not being able to do the exact things that I did in the gym was a challenge as well. I think it was after the Match, I got the flu, we came home, and then we went right on vacation.
“And then for Christmas, you know, when I was going to come back and start practising again, I hurt my hand. It was a pretty good chunk of time where I wasn’t able to do the things that I normally did.
“So when you come back, it takes a little bit of time, and you know, my 100 percent is I’m pretty… I don’t know exactly how to describe it.
“I’m very structured in the way that I do things here at home, and so not being able to do those things is definitely an adjustment.
“So like you said, did it set me back a little bit? Maybe so. But I feel like I’m learning a lot right now, and I definitely did some things really well to start the year.
“That was nice. I definitely had some things that I could for sure improve on, and like I said, my swing, I feel like is really starting to come around.
“And I’m definitely, definitely excited about the things we kind of figured out when we were in Jacksonville.”
Scottie Scheffler admits ball-striking frustrations in 2025
Given his stunning feats last time out, Scheffler has been unable to avoid comparisons to his 2024 season this time around.
He had clinched titles at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship by this stage last year, before going on to win the Masters.
Four more PGA Tour wins followed, including the likes of the Travelers Championship and the Tour Championship.
Also asked if he has been frustrated that things haven’t clicked for him so far in 2025, Scheffler responded: “Well, yeah, I think any time you don’t play up to your expectations, it’s frustrating.
“So with the game of golf, going to be frustrated probably about 95 percent of the time. And this year, I definitely… my ball-striking hasn’t been as good as it has been the last few years.
“I felt like that was what was holding me back the last couple weeks, just not hitting the ball as sharply as I had in previous years. So a lot of that is kind of getting the body back to where it needs to be.
“Like I said, it was an extended break, and not only does it affect my hand, which is getting very close to a hundred percent, but it affects the rest of how the body works because I wasn’t able to get in the gym and do the things I normally do and practise the way that I normally practise.
| Year | Titles | Tournaments |
| 2024 | 7 | Tour Championship Travelers Championship Memorial Tournament RBC Heritage Masters The Players Championship Arnold Palmer Invitational |
| 2023 | 2 | The Players Championship WM Phoenix Open |
| 2022 | 4 | Masters World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play Arnold Palmer Invitational WM Phoenix Open |
“All those things are a definite adjustment, and a lot of that is just not being able to get the reps. It takes time for me to bet back into a hundred percent golf shape.
“And like if you look at my around-the-greens stuff the first few weeks, I wasn’t as sharp as I normally am, and that was just shaking off the rust from an extended break that I was not expecting.
“So I feel like I’m getting sharper and sharper and getting closer and closer to playing some really good golf as the season gets going for me, and definitely excited about the events coming up.”
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