Embarrassing defeat: Scottie Scheffler loses to 10 handicap
03/07/2025 by Golf Post Editors
A surprising setback for Scottie Scheffler: In a private match, he loses to a friend with a handicap of 10 – and has to pay for it.
Scottie Scheffler takes his unexpected defeat with humor. (Photo: Getty)
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for the world number one, Olympic champion and two-time major winner Scottie Scheffler: last weekend, he was beaten by a friend with a handicap of 10 during a private round of golf. The two played an exciting match for money – and in the end, Scheffler had to pay up.
Scottie Scheffler says he lost to a 10-handicap golf buddy last week. 😂 pic.twitter.com/NMzJxqFmxi
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) March 5, 2025
Scottie Scheffler defeated on 18th hole
Scottie Scheffler gave his friend strokes according to their difference in level of play. The decision was made spectacularly at hole 18: His opponent holed out of the bunker and secured the victory. “I got out of the way because I thought he could potentially shank it, and he ended up holing it,” Scheffler describes the decisive moment.
Despite the personal setback, Scheffler emphasizes that it is precisely experiences like this that make golf so appealing and fun: no matter what level the players are at, the handicap system ensures that every match remains exciting and can take unexpected turns: “One of the great things about golf is that I can out with a guy who’s going to play 90, and I can give him enough strokes to where we’ll have a good competition,” he says.
When asked how he dealt with the defeat, Scheffler openly admits: “I didn’t like losing.” But he took it in good humor, joking that he thanked his friend for the boost to his self-confidence before his upcoming start on the PGA Tour this week. Scheffler will tee off as one of the favorites in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The fourth PGA Tour Signature Event features a total prize purse of $20 million and the full PGA elite is participating.
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