A new Scottie Scheffler will tee off at the Charles Schwab Challenge. The reigning Masters champion has gone through an image makeover, after the unfortunate arrest last Friday at Valhalla. Scheffler has shaved his beard completely, as new visuals from the driving range circulate.

Fans believe that Scheffler has a purpose. He, perhaps, wants to separate himself from the incident, by looking different from his mugshot. Some also believe the World No. 1 is angry at himself for missing his chance last week. Scheffler tied for the 8th spot at the PGA Championship, his ninth consecutive top-10s this year. 

Notably, this is the second time the 27-year-old shaved off his beard in as many months. In April, Scottie Scheffler teed off clean-shaven at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Asked about the reason then, the two-time Major champion said, “It was nice [having the beard] because I didn’t have to think about it, but then my beard got so long that it became work. Last week, I got a haircut, and I was thinking about trying to trim it, and I didn’t really know how, so I just shaved it.” 

The former Texas Longhorn didn’t have any superstition attached to his beard. But this time, fans think, Scheffler did shave his beard to shake off the memories of the past week. Scottie Scheffler was arrested on a charge of driving past a traffic blockade. The LMPD police have labeled four charges against including a 2nd-degree assault of a police officer. Twitterati even quipped that probably, the world no.1 golfer is planning to go on a run in case the press conference on May 23 dishes out any unfavorable evidence against him.

Is Scottie Scheffler planning to abscond, fans ask

A large section of the internet sees a connection between Scheffler and Richard Kimble from ‘The Fugitive’. In the drama series, later recreated in Cinema in 1993, Kimble, wrongly accused of killing his wife, shaves his beard. One user tweeted, “Shaving his beard like Richard Kimble. Dr Richard Kimble.” 

Scheffler’s arraignment date is postponed to June 3. Moreover, the Louisville Metro Police will hold a press conference releasing the internal investigation report and new footage from the traffic pole near gate one. One user tweeted, “Now he doesn’t match his mug shot .. getting ready to run.” TUGR, which ranks players based on their head-to-head performance, quipped, “He’s hoping at the arraignment he can use the old, “that wasn’t me, it doesn’t even look like me” trick.”

Others, however, think Scottie Scheffler means business now. The world no.1 admitted he was “fairly tired” of the entire ordeal. Scheffler, without his regular caddie, Ted Scott, on his side on Saturday, carded his first over-par round since August last year. That 1-over 73 effectively ruined his shot at his first Wanamaker Trophy. Scheffler finished eight shots behind the winner, Xander Schauffele.

“This is huge- Scottie is not messing around now,” tweeted one user. Scheffler has won four times in his last six starts. Only once has he finished outside the top 10 this season. Keeping all that in mind, another fan commented, “Scottie cleaning up, hit the weight room this week too, quoted as saying he won’t be holding any pockets in prison. Loving revenge Scottie.”

Scheffler has been paired with Billy Horschel, and Keegan Bradley in the first two rounds of the Charles Schwab Challenge. The 10-time PGA Tour winner will kickstart his round at 1.45 PM ET from the first tee on Thursday. Golf Channel will broadcast the first two rounds from 4 PM to 7 PM.