Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 golfer, is ready to make his 2025 debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am following a peculiar hand injury that sidelined him from the game. The incident occurred over the holidays when Scheffler was making homemade ravioli at a rental house, resulting in a freak accident that led to surgery. Despite missing two events, Scheffler remains optimistic and has resumed his practice sessions, eager to return to competitive play.
The injury happened when Scheffler used a wine glass to cut ravioli shapes out of pasta dough, leading to severe hand damage. His hand was immobile and painful, raising immediate concerns. Fortunately, a nearby friend and surgeon quickly intervened to stop the bleeding. Scheffler's team then contacted a surgeon who had previously treated him for a thumb injury a decade ago. The surgeon swiftly operated on his hand, removing glass fragments.
Recovery for Scheffler was quicker than expected, but he had to refrain from golfing and working out during this period. Instead, he spent his time watching past rounds from 2024 to maintain his mental sharpness.
"It was good to go back and watch some speed rounds just to see how I managed my way around the course and stayed patient," Scheffler said.
He also noted the importance of staying calm during tournaments, saying:
"There's a few tournaments I looked back at where the thing that stuck out the most was that I never really overreacted to stuff… Most of it was just reminding myself of how to kind of play tournament golf just because I've been off for a bit."
On Tuesday, Scheffler completed a practice round at Pebble Beach, showing no signs of rust after his extensive practice sessions. He also played a full round at Cypress Point Club on Monday, which solidified his decision to commit to the tournament. Despite missing the Sentry and the American Express events due to his injury, Scheffler does not intend to alter his schedule drastically.
"Missing those two events is not fun; I enjoy playing them," Scheffler remarked. "Just because I missed two I don't want to change the flow and cadence to my schedule. If I feel like I want to add one to get some extra reps in, then I will."
Scheffler's focus now shifts to preparing for upcoming major tournaments, including the Players Championship in March. Although he is not planning to replace both missed events, he may consider adding one more event to fine-tune his skills ahead of the majors.
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