AUGUSTA — Scottie Scheffler was to serve ravioli, among other things, at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday, a nod to his otherwise somewhat muted sense of humor.
The No. 1 player in the world and defending Masters champion gets to pick the menu, and give credit to Scheffler for poking for at himself, even though the Christmas Day accident he suffered while preparing ravioli might not have been so funny.
It was an accident while using a wine glass as a cutter that led to a hand injury he suffered when the glass broke, requiring surgery. The result was a month on the sidelines and at least two tournament starts missed.
And Scheffler has been attempting to catch up ever since.
“I would say that I feel very prepared for this golf tournament. This is definitely the most prepared that I’ve felt all year,” Scheffler said Tuesday at Augusta National. “I talked a lot about my preparation and stepping up on the tee at Pebble [Beach, his first tournament of 2025] feeling like I wasn't exactly where I was when I ended the year just because I had taken so much time off.
“That was a different feeling because coming into the offseason I think you’re always really excited to get out and play and kind of—not test out the things you worked on but almost show them off a little bit, as in these are the things I’ve been working on and hopefully improving and you’re excited to go out and kind of test them out.
“This year coming off an injury was definitely a different feeling than I’ve had in the last few years. But as far as preparedness goes, this is definitely as prepared as I’ve felt going into any event this year, and I’m excited to get the tournament going.”
Scheffler, 28, is coming off a PGA Tour Player of the Year season that saw him win seven times, including the Masters, the Players and the Tour Championship. He also won Olympic gold as well as the unofficial Hero World Challenge.
That latter victory came in early December as Scheffler employed for the first time a claw putting grip that he utilized from shorter distances.
A few weeks later, Scheffler suffered his mishap, missing the season-opening Sentry as well as the American Express Championship.
In six events, he has three top-10 finishes, including a tie for second two weeks ago at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, where he shot a second-round 62.
That is certainly a good sign but Scheffler showed signs of frustration at times, as well. He hasn’t putted quite as well as he did last season and wasn’t a final-round contender at the two events he won prior to the Masters last year, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players.
“Playing the game of golf I think has always tested your patience,” he said. “I think we all have high expectations of ourselves, and you put a lot of work into trying to come out here and play good golf.
“I think it's a test of your patience every time you don’t hit a shot the way that you feel you should have. I think golf is always a good test of patience.”
Scheffler arrived over the weekend and played a practice round on Sunday with his mom, Diane, as part of pre-tournament perks afforded past champions.
Weather wiped out practice on Monday but Scheffler played nine holes on Tuesday and has nine more planned for Wednesday before the tournament starts Thursday, when he will tee off at 10:15 a.m. along with Justin Thomas and U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester.
Scheffler has one other thing to overcome this week: allergies. He said the pollen was causing him some issues, and he sounded quite congested.
“I’m feeling good, ready to roll,” he said. “Sniffles aren’t going to stop me.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as After Playing Catch-Up in 2025, Scottie Scheffler Is Ready for Masters Title Defense.
