LIV Golf League player Ian Poulter posted a cryptic message as PGA Tour Jay Monahan delivered an update on PIF talks.
Ian Poulter posted a cryptic message as PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan delivered an ‘update’ on peace talks with LIV Golf’s financiers.
Monahan spoke to reporters before the Tour Championship where the most pressing topic was how discussions are going with the breakaway tour’s financial backers.
The PGA Tour commissioner offered little of substance, but he insisted that negotiations between the North American circuit and the Saudi PIF continue to move forward.
Monahan stressed the Tour was not going to negotiate in public and there is no set deadline for a deal to be ratified that would ‘bring the best players in the world back together’.
Poulter was a keen observer to Monahan’s news conference and reacted in real time on his Instagram stories.
The European Ryder Cup legend wrote: “I just have to laugh and sigh at the same time. Sad.
“I wonder if anyone will have the balls to question it or pull it apart.
“I bet they don’t. Let’s wait and see. IYKYK.”
“Or are the puppets going to be puppets? I wonder.”
Poulter added that ‘none of them’ have the [sic] to actually do their jobs.”
The Englishman was among the first wave of golfers to join LIV Golf in 2022.
He has consistently criticised the PGA Tour, Monahan and former DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.
It’s not just Poulter who is appears to be at his wit’s end.
A frustrated Rory McIlroy also complained about the lack of progress that has been made after his opening round at the season finale at East Lake.
“I think anyone that cares about golf, I think has to be frustrated,” the 35-year-old said.
“I think anyone that cares about the PGA Tour has to be frustrated because we’re—we, the royal we, we’re not putting forward the absolute best product that we can.”
McIlroy said the Tour needs its villains back.
“I just think it’s gone on long enough,” he added.
“We’ve got to try to, I mean, I think everyone is trying to find a solution.
PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger talks continue, however, Commissioner Jay Monahan has admitted thrashing out a deal has been complex and will take time to complete
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has admitted that long-running merger talks with LIV Golf are proving to be very complex with no deadline for a deal set.
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and PIF, the Saudi backers of LIV Golf, signed a framework agreement on June 6, 2023, which would bring more than $1 billion of investment. However, the deadline for that agreement expired Dec. 31.
Negotiations continue and PGA Tour Commissioner Monahan provided an update on Wednesday at a news conference ahead of this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
“You look at where we are right now, we’re in regular dialogue, we have the right people at the table with the right mindset,” he said. “I see that in all these conversations on both sides, that creates optimism about the future and our ability to come together.”
“At the same time, these conversations are complex, they’re going to take time,” he conceded. “They have taken time and they will continue to take time.
“When I sit here today, I think the most important thing is our obligation to fans, players and partners is to focus on what we control, which we’re doing as I outlined and continue to carry this momentum forward. I’m not going to negotiate details in public or disclose details or specifics, but all I can say is that conversations continue and they’re productive.”
Following the deadline passing at the end of last year, the PGA announced it had received a huge investment. The Tour was handed $1.5 billion in investment, with up to $3 billion available, thanks to Sports Group to form PGA Tour Enterprises.
The consortium includes Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Fenway Sports Group owner John W. Henry, who owns Premier League side Liverpool, as well as the Boston Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Penguins, The Boston Globe, and RFK Racing. PGA Tour Enterprises chairman Joe Gorder and Henry are at the forefront of negotiations with the Saudis, and they’ve been joined on a transactional subcommittee by Tiger Woods and Adam Scott.
“I think when you get into productive conversations, that enhances the likelihood of positive outcomes, and that enhances the spirit of those very conversations. I think that’s where things stand,” Monahan added.
The Tour Championship starts on Thursday and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler holds a two-shot advantage over No. 2 Xander Schauffele. Scheffler, 28, who has six Tour wins this year, including the Masters, also won Olympic gold in Paris. However, Since the 2019 format change, no player who has started the Tour Championship at the top of the leaderboard has gone on to win it.
Irish golfer starts seven shots behind the world number one at the Tour Championship, with a $25 million-winning FedEx Cup prize in sight
If not quite the promised land, Shane Lowry – finally – has reached the famed East Lake Golf Club in the suburbs of Atlanta where the megabucks Tour Championship closes the PGA Tour’s season. After years of effort, he gets to be a part of the great divvy-up.
“It’s almost embarrassing that I haven’t been here,” admitted Lowry, adding. “It’s always a goal at the start of the year and, thankfully, this year I got to achieve it.”
Lowry’s strong campaign stateside – highlighted, to date, by teaming-up with Rory McIlroy to win the Zurich Classic in New Orleans in a season which has yielded six top-10s – has the Offaly man placed in 13th of the 30-man field headed into the opening round of the Tour Championship and, like everyone, playing catch-up to world number one Scottie Scheffler as the tournament has a staggered reward system in play.
In Lowry’s case, he will start out seven shots behind Scheffler. In the case of Rory McIlroy, he will be six adrift.
“I give shots to my friends every day at home, but my friends are not Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. I think, yeah, it is new, but a good start the first day and you’re back in the tournament … in my head I’m seeing it as like a five-round event that I’ve got three-under the first round and I’m seven back of the leader and I need to kind of pick away at that over the four days and see where it leaves me on Sunday,” explained Lowry of how he would approach the task of playing catch-up.
But it can be done. In 2022, McIlroy – in claiming a third FedEx Cup title – started the Tour Championship six shots behind Scheffler and won by one.
Indeed, Lowry’s long-time failure to reach East Lake could, ironically, be in his favour on finally managing to earn a place in the field. The course has undergone a remarkable transformation since Viktor Hovland triumphed a year ago, to the point that players have likened it to playing a brand new course.
“Everybody keeps saying how different it is, but it’s obviously just a new golf course for me, so I don’t really know anything different, which is great.
“It’s great to hear the lads moaning about it inside the locker room, and I’m happy with what I see. It’s going to play quite difficult. If you miss fairways you’re going to struggle to make pars, and it’s going to be hard to get the ball close to the pins.
“It’ll be interesting to see how it plays. But new golf courses always play really firm and fast, and that’s what this is doing. It’s in great shape. The chipping areas and the greens and everything about the place is in great shape. It should make for a great tournament,” said Lowry, who has expended a lot of energy in an exhausting schedule which has seen him play four straight weeks – Olympics, Wyndham, St Jude and BMW – with this tour finale making for a fifth.
Of that schedule, Lowry claimed: “I’m pretty tired, but I think I’ve managed myself pretty well over the last five weeks. I’m feeling okay. Look, my adrenaline [levels], if you can’t get up for a tournament like this and you can’t keep it going for four days on a week like this you’re in the wrong game, so I’ll be fine.”
The €89 million ($100m) pot of gold to be divvied up between the 30 players – with the winner getting the lion’s share (€22.3m/$25m) – would certainly provide the perfect antidote to any tiredness and Lowry’s upcoming schedule will continue to be demanding as he intends to shift course to Europe for a spell that takes in the Amgen Irish Open, the BMW PGA and the Spanish Open.
“I’ve just done three weeks away from my family, my kids. I’m about to do another good run going back to Europe. That’s probably the most difficult part for me. It’s nothing to do with the fatigue levels and the getting up for golf, but when you’re FaceTiming your kids and they’re asking you when you’re going to be home and it’s not going to be for another three weekends, that always gets hard.
“But it is what it is; that’s what we have to do. Going back to play the Irish Open and Wentworth is going to be two big tournaments for me. The Irish Open means a lot to me, and Wentworth, I’ve done quite well there in the past and I really love the tournament.
“Going back and playing in those and then Madrid the week after, I have a big stint away, but after that I’ll have some time off. I’ll have plenty of time off this winter to get ready for 2025. But I have still a lot of golf to play.”
And, in money terms, none as big as this week.
Tour Championship
Purse: €89 million (€22.3m to the winner)
Where: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
The course: East Lake Golf Club – 7,490 yards par 71 – has been home to the Tour Championship since it was introduced in 2007 and, of course, was the home course of the legendary Bobby Jones. Some things have changed since Viktor Hovland triumphed last year, however. Andrew Green – who has established quite a reputation as a course architect/renovator – was commissioned to bring the course back to how it was in Jones’ day and used aerial photographs from 1949 along with archival photographs to do so. The project took just 10 months to complete and also features new grasses on fairways and greens while the 14th has been extended to a par 5.
“It’s basically a new golf course from what it was before. It’s not really at all the same. The greens, since they’re new, are extremely firm, which I think makes it more challenging. It’ll be tough to access some of the hole locations. I think we’ll have a bit to learn in terms of golf course set-up,” claimed Scottie Scheffler of his first impressions of the remake.
The field: The end game of the season and of the FedEx Cup playoffs leaves just 30 players remaining for the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup titles. Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, begins with a head start on everyone. Scheffler is 10 under before hitting a ball, with Xander Schauffele on eight under and Hideki Matsuyama on seven under … Rory McIlroy is playing catchup from four under, while Shane Lowry starts on three under.
Quote-Unquote: “If last year was a nine out of 10, I’d probably say we’re still at a five, four out of 10 right now. I know I can still shoot good numbers, but it just feels like it’s a little bit more hard work. It’s tougher for me to kind of string the good rounds together day by day.” – defending champion Viktor Hovland comparing his game with 12 months ago.
Irish in the field: Rory McIlroy – a three-time winner of the FedEx Cup – is paired with Ryder Cup team-mate Ludvig Aberg (Thursday, 6.38pm Irish time); Shane Lowry, competing in the Tour Championship for the first time, is paired with Adam Scott (5.49pm).
Betting: Most of the time, Scottie Scheffler doesn’t require a head-start to get the job done. So, with a two-stroke lead from the off over Xander Schauffele and all of 10 on a quintet of players that includes Justin Thomas, it is no wonder to find the Olympic gold medallist installed as the red hot 11-10 favourite with Schauffele at 23-10 … still, it may be worth looking at Sam Burns – available at 33-1 – who starts out six back.
On TV: Live coverage on Sky Sports+ from 4.15pm and on Sky Sports Golf from 6pm.
Despite an illustrious career in golf which many pro players can only dream of, Tiger Woods admitted he has one regret about his journey in particular.
Tiger Woods claimed he has just one regret in his life. From a prestigious 28-year pro golf career, the 48-year-old Californian has racked up almost every accolade since turning pro back in 1996 at the tender age of 20, winning 15 majors and 82 PGA Tour events.
And despite becoming the world’s youngest-ever Masters winner in 1997 after outperforming the likes of Tom Kite, Tommy Tolles and Tom Watson with a total score of -18, Woods said that he rues turning pro when he did. When probed on the toughest moment of his life by CBS Sports, the legend of the game said: “The only regret I have in life is not spending another year at Stanford, and I wish I would’ve had one more year.”
The interviewer then probed: “Of all the things that’s happened to you?” To which Woods responded: “All the things and that’s all.” Arguably one of Woods’ biggest regrets in his lifetime would be his infidelity with ex-wife Elin Nordegren, with the pro having secret affairs with as many as 16 women during his marriage.
Through his affairs, Woods’ sponsorship deals with the likes of Nike, Gatorade and Gillette disappeared, with the star admitting: “I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable,” after his actions came to light.
With all things considered, Woods was probed further in his interview with CBS with: “Everything?” Woods continued: “All the things I’ve been through are tough, yes. They’ve been tough, but they’ve been great for me, but I wish I would’ve gone one more year at Stanford.”
Woods enrolled at the prestigious university in 1994 through a golf scholarship, winning the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational in the September.
He chose economics for his major while studying over the next two years, while tearing it up on the golf courses with Stanford Men’s Golf team. Despite spending just two years at the university, Woods racked up an impressive 11 tournament wins – tying the record for most tournaments taken.
Speaking about his time at Stanford, Woods said: “I had such a great time playing golf at Stanford. Just all the practicing, playing and qualifying. It was always fun being around each other. What sets Stanford apart is the combination of quality athletics with an unmatched educational experience.
“Our Provost was Condeleeza Rice. My economics teacher was one of President Clinton’s advisors. You don’t see that at most schools. It was so intellectually stimulating to be challenged all the time. There was no way I could compete against some of those people. They were so smart. One kid had a photographic memory, and another built a computer from scratch.”
He added: “I really enjoyed being stimulated by the students and professors. Some were geniuses and others were Olympic athletes. It’s amazing how well-rounded they are. That’s what’s so cool about it. You must soak up that experience. It was one of the best times in my life.”
Despite regretting his decision to leave Stanford prematurely, the move ultimately paid off in the long run as Woods carved an incredible pro career after his initial Masters win of 1997. Fast forward to 2024 and the golfing great has four PGA Championships to his name, five Masters wins, three US Opens and three Open Championships.
He also has 82 PGA Tour wins in total, and has spent a whopping 683 weeks at World No.1 – more than any other pro golfer in history. While his last major win came in the form of his fifth Masters in 2019 – pipping the likes of Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson by a single stroke – Woods has shown no signs of slowing down, appearing at all four majors this year, albeit only making the cut at the Masters at Augusta in April.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, was seen wincing in pain and holding his lower back after playing a shot at the BMW Championship. However, he has played down the injury.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top golfer, has reassured fans that he is “fine” despite wincing in pain from a back injury during the BMW Championship.
The golf star was seen grimacing and clutching his lower back after hitting his ball off the fairway with a 5-iron on the 17th at Castle Pines Golf Club. This sight alarmed PGA Tour and golf fans globally, as it echoed Tiger Woods’ frequent lower back grabs, which eventually derailed his career.
However, Scheffler downplayed his discomfort, attributing it to his back being more troublesome than usual on Thursday.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Scheffler said. “I woke up just a little sore this morning. I had trouble loosening it up. With it being a little bit tight, it was hard for me to get through it, and I was laboring most of the day to get through the ball.
“On 17, I was trying to hit a high draw, and that’s a shot where I’ve really got to use a big turn, big motion. I just felt it a little bit. But other than that, all good.”
Scheffler also stated that his recovery routine would remain unchanged, adding: “Maybe I hit a few too many balls yesterday or something. It was just a little sore. I’m sure I’ll get some ice on it and stuff. I’ll be totally fine [on Friday].”
The 28-year-old golfer managed to make par on the No. 17 hole, a result that left him frustrated given the par-5 challenge is seen as one of the easiest on the course. Scheffler was unable to get up and down from in front of the green and found himself almost 30 yards short of the hole, where he left his 5-iron.
He ended his round with a missed birdie putt on 18, finishing with a 1-under 69. The American is now five shots behind leader Keegan Bradley, who impressed as the 2025 Team USA Ryder Cup captain with a six-under round, leading the tournament by two ahead of competitors like Im Sung-Jae, Adam Scott, and others.
Scheffler is hoping to build on an already historic season. In 2024, he became the first player to secure six PGA Tour wins in a single year before July since Arnold Palmer, and he also added Olympic gold to his achievements in Paris.
If Scheffler clinches the BMW Championship, he will join Vijay Singh and Woods as the only golfers to have won seven or more tournaments in a single PGA Tour season in the modern era. Scheffler is set to tee off for his second round in Colorado on Friday, August 23.
‘Tiger Woods, for sure,’ she told the outlet. ‘When I started with, PGATour.com, I think Tiger was my second ever sit-down interview.
‘I’m very thankful the camera angle was from the waist up; my legs were shaking uncontrollably from nervousness. I lost a lot of sleep before that interview.’
With the 2024 golf season in hindsight, the respected journalist will be leaving the course and taking to the NFL sidelines for the upcoming season.
Despite not being as active, Woods remains the biggest name in the sport. Having revolutionized the sport with 15 major wins and 82 PGA Tour victories, Woods’ presence unsurprisingly shakes fans and media members alike.
Balionis would have a successful career as a golf reporter, making herself a valuable asset to CBS.
Besides the memorable Woods interview, she also recalled ‘The Dustin Johnson interview after he won the 2020 Masters when he got vulnerable with us.
‘Presiding over the trophy presentation after Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship was unbelievable; understanding the historic element and witnessing the crowds ushering him up to the 72nd green. That’s an image I’ll never forget.”
As she puts on a different hat to cover American Football for the rest of the year, Balionis expressed her gratitude for everything that unfolded on the golf course this past season.
‘That’s officially a wrap on the 2024 @golfoncbs season! This year had it all. From historic moments to heart shattering events and every other emotion you can imagine in between,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘I love this game. I love working in sports. Competing at the highest level requires and produces constant examples of inspiration, drama, unbridled joy, resilience, growth and teamwork.
‘It’s an honor to be a very small part of a tremendous team that brings these moments and stories to life each weekend,’ Balionis continued. ‘If we left you with one new favorite player, or one memorable moment you shared with loved ones then we have done our jobs. Catch ya on the NFL sidelines until next season!’
Rory McIlroy’s brutal season continued this past weekend after finishing tied 68th place at the FedEx St Jude Championship while struggling after naming himself ‘golf’s nearly man’
Rory McIlroy had one of the worst performances of his career at the FedEx St Jude Championship this past weekend in what can only be described as a worrying showing.
McIlroy finished in 68th place with Jordan Speith and Max Homa surprisingly playing just as poorly – the only two men to have finished below him. The Northern Irishman finished the tournament in Memphis with some worrying statistics, including having the second-worst driving week of his career (-4.015), the 21st-worst approach week of his career (-3.126), and the third-worst putting week of his career (-7.833).
The world number three finished at nine-over-par – a whopping 26 shots more than winner Hideki Matsuyama to drop him to fifth in the FedEx Cup standings while being 3,974 points behind leader Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy made only one birdie on Sunday with his brutal round including a triple-bogey six at the par-three 14th after he sent his tee shot flying into the water.
Earlier last week, McIlroy stated that he’d begin to think of himself as the sport’s ‘nearly man’ after his recent disappointments at the US Open and Olympics.
This coming after coming agonisingly close to ending his 10-year wait for another major tournament win after he bogeyed three of his last four holes including missing a two-foot putt as Bryson DeChambeau won his second US Open. Just weeks later, McIlroy looked to be in line to win a medal for Ireland at the Olympics but ultimately fell to shots short.
Speaking prior to the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, McIlroy told reporters: ” I just have to finish off tournaments better. There’s been glimpses where I have done it, like Quail Hollow, for example, but obviously US Open, you know, Olympics.
“Yeah, I just, it’s just sort of, I feel like this year, maybe the last couple of years, I’ve just found a way to hit the wrong shot at the wrong time. That might go into preparation and trying to practice a little more under pressure at home. You know, you go through these things in golf, and you go through these little challenges, and you just have to try to figure out a way to get through it.
“And my challenge right now is, is that it’s, it’s really good, but not quite good enough to to sort of take home the silverware,” he continued, as he acknowledged that he has been doing some soul searching. “So it’s just, you know, something I’m having to work through.”
For all his dominance in 2024, Scottie Scheffler can be toppled by the likes of Rory McIlroy in the PGA Tour play-offs – which unsurprisingly splits their opinions of the format
The PGA Tour ‘s play-offs have completely divided opinion between Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler has been by far and away the best PGA golfer this year. But the world No. 1’s six victories in 2024 only give him a shots-based advantage in the three tournaments, which determine the Tour champion.
The top 50 in the FedEx Cup points standings after the St. Jude Championship this weekend will advance to next week’s BMW Championship, where that number will be whittled down to 30 for the concluding Tour Championship.
With 5,993 points, Scheffler is nearly 2,000 points ahead of closest rival Xander Schauffele on 4,057, and he’s got more than double McIlroy’s 2,545. But they’ve got a chance to catch up to him on the course, with the final winner of the FedEx Cup season claiming the trophy.
Given his dominance, Scheffler isn’t a fan of how it’s decided. “I talked about it the last few years. I think it’s silly,” he said. “You can’t call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament. Hypothetically, we get to East Lake (host of the Tour Championship) and my neck flares up and it doesn’t heal the way it did at The Players.
“I finish 30th in the FedExCup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament, is that really the season-long race? No. It’s a fun tournament. I don’t really consider it the season-long race like I think the way it’s called. But you’ve got to figure out a way to strike a balance between it being a good TV product and it still being a season-long race.
“Right now, I don’t know exactly how the ratings are or anything like that, but I know for a fact you can’t really quite call it the season-long race when it comes down to one stroke-play tournament on the same golf course each year.”
Barring any issues, Scheffler will start the Tour Championship on 10 under, at least two better than anyone else. But that hasn’t helped him triumph in the last two years. In 2022, he threw away a six-stroke lead and allowed McIlroy to claim a record third FedEx Cup.
Last year, he shot just one under overall and was 16 behind the champion Viktor Hovland. Scheffler’s frustration is likely heightened by the huge money on offer for the winner – $25million (£19m), which is not far off his record-breaking total earnings this year in excess of $28m (£22m).
McIlroy, on the other hand, is a fan. “I love this format because if it wasn’t this format, then none of us would have a chance against Scottie because he’s so far ahead,” he admitted. “So I really like this format. I think it makes the Tour Championship more exciting from a consumer standpoint.
“Is it the fairest reflection of who’s been the best player of the year? Probably not. But I think at this point we’re not in for totally fair; we’re in for entertainment and for trying to put on the best product we possibly can.”
Jon Rahm has not enjoyed the same level of success since joining LIV Golf last year and is allegedly open to returning to the PGA Tour – even if it means giving up his millions
Jon Rahm is ready to do whatever it takes to make a comeback to the PGA Tour, it’s been claimed.
Rahm could even hand back some of his LIV Golf cash to play alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler again. A “veteran tour insider” claims that Rahm is having second thoughts about his switch to the Saudi-backed league.
“I am 100 percent positive that if Jon could give the money back to the Saudis and come back to the tour, he couldn’t write the check fast enough,” the anonymous source told Golf Digest.
Not too long ago, Rahm was dazzling as one of the bright new stars on the PGA Tour. He racked up more than $70million (£54m) in career earnings across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, and he enjoyed a prestigious stint as World No.1 for over 50 weeks. His 11 PGA victories include triumphs at the Masters and US Open.
However, since his 2023 leap to LIV Golf, Rahm’s performances and fan engagement have not mirrored his previous heights. “Now there are only four times a year when he’s playing that anybody is remotely interested,” the insider added. “He thought his stature in the game was secure no matter where he was playing, and it was a bad miscalculation.”
Barring last month’s Open – where Rahm tied for seventh at 3-under – the 29-year-old has had a tough time in this year’s majors. He just made the cut at the Masters, ending up T45, didn’t make it through the PGA Championship and had to pull out of the US Open due to a foot infection.
Before the Open, former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley suggested that Rahm’s lacklustre performances might be down to his rumoured dissatisfaction with LIV Golf, which was rumoured to sign him for upwards of $500m ($386.3m).
“He’s not on the cutting edge the way he was,” McGinley said. “His performances in majors are showing that. I don’t think he’s in a happy place; he doesn’t look content on the golf course.”
Rahm’s start to 2024 wasn’t stellar, failing to clinch a win in any of the first 10 LIV events, though he did tie for third in Adelaide and Nashville. Yet last month he triumphed in the LIV UK, bagging a tournament win for the eighth year running.
In recent months, Rahm hasn’t held back on suggesting improvements for LIV Golf. This April, he criticised the event format, pushing for a change from the 54-hole tournaments with a shotgun start to a full 72. “The closer we can get LIV to do some of these things, the better,” Rahm commented.
Scottie Scheffler had a moment of frustration all golf fans could relate to during the opening round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship Thursday.
The World No. 1, playing his first tournament back on the PGA Tour since winning Olympic gold in Paris, lost his temper, despite shooting a four-under 66 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.
Four-under thru 12, the Masters champion’s tee shot at the 13th found a bunker 185 yards from the pin. His second shot failed to find the green, suffering a similar sandy fate.
Faced with getting up and down from the trap to the right of the green, Scheffler splashed out over the pin with his ball coming to a stop 13 feet away from the hole.
Despite his shot safely finding the dancefloor and setting up a good look at a par save, the two-time major winner was less than impressed.
Scheffler immediately slammed his club into the bunker before his ball could even land, before furiously kicking the sand to cover his tracks and shaking his head in disgust.
As he exited the sand trap, he took one last aim at the ground with his club before striding away.
Scheffler ultimately missed the par putt and was forced to tap in for bogey – his lone dropped shot of the round.
However, he picked up another birdie at the par-five 16th to card his 66 and head into the second round Friday with a seven-way share of fifth.
Scheffler’s rare outburst came one day after the Olympian ripped into the PGA Tour’s ‘silly’ playoff format.
Arriving with a freshly-won gold medal around his neck, Scheffler was pressed on the one trophy that had eluded him throughout his glittering career so far: The FedEx Cup.
‘I talked about it the last few years, I think it’s silly,’ said Scheffler, who has started the past two Tour Championships at East Lake Golf Club at 10-under – at least two shots better than the rest of the field.
‘You can’t call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament.
‘Hypothetically, we get to East Lake and my neck flares up and it doesn’t heal the way it did at the Players. I finish 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is that really the season-long race? No, it is what it is.’
Scheffler, whose 2024 earnings total $36,148,691 so far, will tee off alongside PGA Championship and The Open Championship winner Xander Schauffele at 10:35am ET in the second round Friday with the BMW Championship following next week before the PGA Tour’s season finale on August 29.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73035029/1865272360.0.jpg)
