Smylie Kaufman suggests whether he thinks Scottie Scheffler would’ve won the PGA Championship had he not been arrested

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While the PGA Championship was one of the tournaments Scottie Scheffler did not actually manage to win in 2024, it was certainly one event that the world number one will not be able to forget in a hurry.

Scottie Scheffler had already established himself as the man to beat heading into Valhalla. The 28-year-old had already won four times this season ahead of the PGA Championship, including at the Masters the previous month. And when he opened up with a 67 in Kentucky, it appeared that he was very much in the mix.

However, Friday at the PGA Championship will largely be remembered for what happened right outside the gates. A tragic incident earlier in the day meant that there was a large police presence at Valhalla. And that somehow led to Scheffler being arrested as he arrived ahead of his second round.

There were questions over whether he would play no further part in the tournament. Somehow however, Scheffler – who would later see all charges dropped – not only arrived for his tee time, but went on to post a 66 to move within three shots of the lead. It was arguably Scheffler’s best round all year.

Whether Scottie Scheffler’s arrest dashed his hopes of winning the PGA Championship

The emotional toll would become apparent on Saturday, with a 73 ending his hopes of victory. Nevertheless, he still managed to finish in a tie for eighth.

It was remarkable that Scheffler even competed after his arrest – let alone still finished in the top 10. With that, it is hard not to wonder what he would have done had he made it through the gates without incident on Friday.

But speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman is not convinced that Scheffler would have been able to catch Xander Schauffele anyway.

“I don’t think he wins. No, it wasn’t a good venue for him. It didn’t require a guy to be able to play in firm conditions. I just think it was an execution test, and it wasn’t overly complicated and difficult. And I think where Scottie’s at his best is when the golf course becomes more and more challenging,” he said.

“And I think most people can agree, when you go and look back at the numbers of how low everyone went at the PGA Championship; par, it felt like was 67. That’s not a major championship you would say which was perfect for Scottie, so I don’t look back at that and think man, he would have definitely won that event. Now, if it was a different venue that was very difficult, and challenging, and he had gotten off to a good start like he did, I’d say I think we can say yeah, maybe he should’ve won.”

Scheffler’s lowest scores of the season

Obviously, there would be a much greater debate to be had had the gap between Scheffler and Schauffele not been eight shots. It was also interesting that Scheffler’s worst round of the week actually came the day after the arrest – when he did not have Ted Scott on the bag.

Scheffler would take exception with the notion that he is not as competitive when the course is easier. He won the Players Championship by one shot on 20 under par, while he won the RBC Heritage on 19 under par.

And of course, Scheffler made a mockery of the field at the Hero World Challenge earlier this month, as he won by six at 25 under par.

Perhaps he did indeed leave himself with too much to do – though Bryson DeChambeau was one shot back of Scheffler after the opening round before going on to finish second – but Kaufman’s argument may not persuade everyone who felt Scheffler was on course to go back to back in the first two majors.