Scottie Scheffler’s Unsportsmanlike Actions at Phoenix Open Spark Heavy Backlash From Golf World

The 2025 WM Phoenix Open at the Stadium Course in TPC Scottsdale, Arizona, bore witness to something rather unexpected. Scottie Scheffler lost his calm. This isn’t something we see very often, but when the golfer’s frustrations boiled over, he made sure to let everyone know! During his second tournament in 2025, Scheffler was 2 under par for the round midway in the third round. After what was a very disappointing shot on the 15th, Scheffler approached his TaylorMade bag and then struck it once with the club, toppling it over.

It was a hard swing, a clear indication of the frustration Scheffler had. Anyway, he ended up bogeying the hole. The #1 golfer was seven shots off the leader, Thomas Detry, which would explain the reaction. However, Scheffler recovered well for two birdies in a row at the 17th and 18th holes to finish day 3 with a total score of 10 under par and T10 on the leaderboard.

While Scheffler losing his composure seems like a rare thing, it has happened a couple of times in the past. For instance, in early 2024, the golfer lobbied his golf ball into the trees after he missed a birdie putt at the Genesis Invitational. But wait, there are more instances.

His frustration was clearly visible at the 2024 BMW Championship. He couldn’t understand why the ball didn’t spin after a short approach. He was heard saying, “How? How is that possible? … What the f–k?”

Going further in the past, he was seen seething during the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills after finding the water at the 18th hole.

Scheffler returned to the competitive season this year. After all, had gotten injured during Christmas dinner preparations and needed surgery for it.

You see, the University of Texas at Austin grad entered the 2025 PGA Tour season after registering seven PGA Tour victories in the 2024 season. This time around, winning seems to be the only goal in mind while entering the course, as opposed to what he said at the 2024 Olympics. In Paris, he mentioned his goal was to have fun, and not take gold home. He did, though. So maybe setting himself up for fun is the way for him to win? Well, only he can affirm that.

With such high standards, frustrations tend to boil over, but does that justify such actions? Fans don’t think so.

Fans demand better from Scottie Scheffler…

The anger did not sit well with a lot of fans who admire and follow Scheffler for his demeanor and how he carries himself on and off the field. They wrote on social media:

• “That’s not very professional.”
• “This is poor from Scottie.”

But hey, can we really blame him? Every win/loss counts in the game of golf. In fact, did you know that he is quite a trash-talker? Back in September 2024, he showed his competitive nature against Tom Kim at the Presidents Cup. When Kim buried a birdie putt from just inside 30 feet on the par-3 seventh hole, he yelled, “LET’S GO!” So matching his energy, he hit a birdie which was about the same length, turned towards Kim, and shouted, “WHAT WAS THAT?”

Regardless, it seems fans were not happy with his newest outburst of anger. One fan wrote:

• “Poor guy can’t handle it when he’s not winning, bless him”

But if we look into the past, the golfer has always been competitive. Back in 2024, Texas coach John Fields was chatting with Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott. “Ted, everybody thinks Scottie is this laid back guy and really relaxed,” Fields said and the caddie responded, “You know that’s not true.” In fact, we have a story from the past to show Scheffler’s angry side.

Back in 2015, the Texas Longhorns golf team was at a match play event at Texas Tech. It was Scheffler’s freshman year and he, along with play partner Beau Hossler, were at the par-5 11th hole and launched their drives. What happened was, Hossler reached the shorter ball first and took a look at it. It wasn’t hit, so he kept walking, thinking he outdrove Scheffler.

So when Scheffler walked to the first ball, he assumed Hossler would have accurately recognized it wasn’t his ball and hence, hit it, thinking it was his own. However, when Hossler looked at the second ball, he exclaimed, “This is not my ball.” Here’s the thing: As per NCAA rules, if a golfer hits the wrong ball, they forfeit the hole.

Scheffler was so angry that he ran 250 yards, picked the ball, ran all the way back, and threw the ball at Hossler’s feet.

• “Great example for kids these days…”
• “I hope Ted’s phone wasn’t in there..”

But it is not just Scottie Scheffler; there have been many instances of golfers taking their anger out on their equipment after a poor shot or missed opportunity. In the 1987 Ryder Cup, Ben Crenshaw was forced to putt with his wedge and irons after an incident borne out of frustration. Crenshaw broke his putter on the ground, and regulations did not allow him to change the broken club.

Rory McIlroy found himself in hot water during the 2015 WGC Cadillac Championship. After his shot at the 8 hole went into the water, McIlroy flung his 3-iron out of frustration into the water. Despite the organizers getting the club out of the water, via a scuba diver, McIlroy completed the remainder of the tournament without the 3-iron club in his armory.

In competition with huge stakes, the frustration is understandable to a certain extent. However, having control over emotions is a key facet of preventing mistakes from continuously occurring. What do you think of Scottie Scheffler’s actions?