Freak Christmas dinner accident rules Scottie Scheffler out of start of 2025 golf season

Scottie Scheffler. Photo / Getty Images

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will miss the first few weeks of the 2025 season after undergoing surgery to remove glass from his right hand following a freak accident which occurred while he was preparing Christmas dinner.

It is not the most bizarre moment of the American’s amazing year – think orange prison suits and police mugshots at the US PGA Championship in May – but this quiet and unassuming character emphasised his propensity to raise eyebrows with the bloody incident at home in Texas

“On Christmas Day while preparing dinner, Scottie sustained a puncture wound to the palm of his right hand from a broken glass,” Blake Smith, his manager, said in a statement. “Small glass fragments remained in the palm which required surgery.”

While the injury could conceivably affect his preparations to defend his Masters title, the Augusta major is not until April and, providing there are no complications, there will be plenty of time for the 28-year-old to get his game match sharp.

However, it is undoubtedly a huge blow to the $35 million Sentry Championship in Hawaii next week, where Scheffler, with his huge lead at the top of the rankings, was to be the standout star, especially with Rory McIlroy skipping the traditional curtain-raiser as he readies himself to start his campaign in Dubai in three weeks.

“Scottie has been told that he should be back to 100% in three to four weeks, Smith added. “Unfortunately, he will have to withdraw from The Sentry. His next scheduled tournament is The American Express [in California, two weeks later].”

Following his astonishing 2024, Scheffler could probably do with the extra rest. Not only did he don a second green jacket in three years, he also won seven other events, including the Olympics in Paris in August.

However, Scheffler commanded more headlines when he was arrested while making his way into Valhalla for the second round of US PGA. Scheffler was charged with assaulting a police officer after being accused of accelerating away and dragging the official to the ground in the process.

He still managed to make it back to the course in time to shoot a 66, and a fortnight later, all charges against the two-time major winner were dropped.

That infamous incident did not stop Scheffler from sitting atop the world rankings for the entire year, becoming the first player to do so since Tiger Woods in 2009.

“I think it’s been a great year, it’s been a fun year,” Scheffler said after his most recent outing in the Bahamas, having claimed around $53m in prize money along this calendar year.