[PHOTO: David Cannon]
Scottie Scheffler answered questions from the media for the first time since announcing he needed surgery to repair his injured right hand after an accident at the end of December. During a media outing promoting the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scheffler, the defending champion, joined remotely and said his recovery is going well.
“Everything went well with the surgery,” Scheffler told the assembled media via video conference. “Body feels pretty good, still making decisions on schedule going forward.”
Scheffler said he’s unsure whether he’ll commit to next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which would be the second PGA Tour signature event he would miss if he’s unable to participate. The injury caused him to miss the season-opening Sentry event earlier this month.
“We should know in the next few days to a week whether I’ll play next week,” Scheffler said, with entries closing Friday. “But everything’s on schedule, so we’ll see.”
When asked how long ago he was able to get back to hitting full shots, he declined to discuss specifics about his recovery, though he said he has returned to the gym. And when asked how he injured his hand, he mentioned “making homemade ravioli”. In a statement released on December 27 by Scheffler’s manager Blake Smith, it stated: “On Christmas Day while preparing dinner, Scottie sustained a puncture wound to the palm of his right hand from a broken glass,” while also saying small fragments of glass remained in Scheffler’s palm, which required surgery.
Scheffler also joked that it took some adjusting to not using his right hand for normal stuff during his recovery from surgery such as brushing his teeth and changing his son’s nappies.
The world’s top-ranked golfer is coming off one of the best seasons in pro history with seven official PGA Tour victories, plus victories at December’s Hero World Challenge and a gold medal at the Olympics. He also became the first golfer since Tiger Woods to be named the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for the third straight season. Scheffler also paired with Rory McIlroy in December to win the Crypto.com Showdown at Shadow Creek.
