Scottie Scheffler’s father, caddie get into altercation with vulgar fan
Scottie Scheffler’s father, Scott, found himself involved in an altercation with a fan during the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club on Saturday. The incident unfolded before Scheffler hit his approach shot on the 16th hole during the afternoon alternate-shot match. Scheffler was playing alongside his partner, Russell Henley, against Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae…
Scottie Scheffler’s father, Scott, found himself involved in an altercation with a fan during the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club on Saturday. The incident unfolded before Scheffler hit his approach shot on the 16th hole during the afternoon alternate-shot match. Scheffler was playing alongside his partner, Russell Henley, against Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im.
As the players walked toward their drives, a fan near the hospitality tents began shouting vulgar remarks aimed at Scheffler and his wife, Meredith. Scheffler’s father stepped across a fan rope to confront the man before being separated by Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, and officers assigned to the event. The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig later reported on social media that the disruptive fan was escorted off the course. However, when asked for confirmation, an officer would only acknowledge that an incident had taken place.
Despite the altercation, Scheffler remained focused. He hit his approach shot shortly after the scuffle and later closed out the match with a par putt from 2 feet, 8 inches. Although Scheffler’s parents declined to speak about the altercation, and Scottie himself did not attend the post-round press conference, Henley addressed questions.
When asked if the confrontation was a distraction, Henley replied, “No, not really. Once it happened, we just kind of refocused and got back in it.”
The incident added to the intensity of a match that had already been a rollercoaster. Scheffler and Henley had trailed by 3 after the front nine and didn’t take the lead until the 14th hole. On the 15th, tensions heightened again when Im hit a tee shot into the water, prompting a discussion between Scheffler, Im, and Matsuyama about the appropriate drop location for their third shot. After settling the matter, Scheffler grabbed one of the International players’ clubs and placed it back in their bag.
Henley, unaware of the details surrounding the drop dispute, said, “I wasn’t over there. I think Scottie was kind of handling it, but it looked like they came to an agreement.”
Following their win on the 16th green, Scheffler celebrated enthusiastically with his American teammates and quickly shook hands with Im and Matsuyama. The victory contributed to the U.S. team’s 11-7 lead over the International team, made up of players from countries outside the U.S. and Europe. The biennial competition concludes on Sunday with singles matches between the 12 members of each team.
In the third match on Sunday, set for 12:26 p.m. ET, Scheffler will face Matsuyama again. It could be one of Scheffler’s last competitive rounds of 2024, capping off the most remarkable season of his career. This year, he has won eight tournaments worldwide, including the Masters and an Olympic gold medal, marking one of the most dominant seasons in recent PGA Tour history. Scheffler also made headlines earlier in the year when he was arrested before the second round of the PGA Championship due to a traffic violation. He was released from jail in time for his tee time, and the charges were eventually dropped.
