The 2024 PGA Tour season has certainly delivered some incredible moments—jaw-dropping wins, exciting tournaments, and plenty of drama. But as we reflect on the year, was it all smooth sailing? Well, not exactly. The season definitely had its fair share of bumps, with player withdrawals becoming quite a trend.

And as the new season approaches, the fear of more injuries still hangs in the air. Just recently, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler withdrew from the season opener, The Sentry, after suffering a puncture wound to his right palm from a broken glass during Christmas celebrations. Ouch.

But Scottie Scheffler isn’t the only one facing setbacks right now!

Another name you won’t see at the start of the season is Scott Stallings. The PGA Tour pro has been dealing with a series of injuries over the past year, including shoulder, biceps, and labrum issues, leading to several surgeries in 2024. According to a recent update from Golf Injury Report on X, Stallings “hopes to begin chipping in January and be able to practice fully by April. His goal is to return to the PGA Tour in the fall of 2025.”‘

Stallings has been out of action since late March when he had to pull out of the Texas Children’s Houston Open because of a left shoulder injury. After a few months and multiple surgeries, he posted a hospital photo with the caption “Road to better starts now.” Now that all the surgeries are behind him, he’s finally able to relax a bit as he says, “All the surgeries are over.”

Stallings isn’t out on the course just yet, but he’s definitely keeping busy. He’s been coaching a youth church basketball team and helping with the University of Tennessee golf program. And, of course, spending lots of quality time with his kids.

“I’ve been playing the Tour for the last 14 years so it’s been a nice break,” he told Golfweek. It sounds like this time off has actually been kind of refreshing for him.

Stallings may have left the clubs but not the course

Even though Stallings has been off the course for a while, he hasn’t stepped away from the game he loves. He’s been a tremendous supporter of junior golf in Tennessee, running the Scott Stallings Kids Play Free Initiative, which, with the help of the Tennessee Golf Foundation, gives kids the chance to play golf for free.

And Stallings hasn’t just been sitting on the sidelines. He even took on caddie duties at PGA Tour Q-School for Jake Hall, a 24-year-old graduate of Tennessee who’s been part of Stallings’ Junior Cup in Nashville. “He’s one of our kids,” Stallings said about Hall. The player also acknowledged, Maddox Crowder, the Scott Stallings Junior Cup victor, with a personal video call.

Before his injuries sidelined him, Stallings played in a few events in 2024, including the Valspar Championship, where he finished T12. He played in nine events this year, made three cuts, and finished in the Top 25 in two contests; although he did miss five cuts. Unfortunately, just when he was gearing up to tee it up at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, he had to withdraw because of that left shoulder injury.

It’s been a rough year for Stallings with all the surgeries and rehab, but it seems like he’s making the most of it, staying involved in the game and focusing on giving back. We hope when he returns in 2025, he’ll be more than ready to pick up where he left off—stronger, refreshed, and with a renewed perspective on both his career and the game.