This Week in Golf: ‘Beware the injured golfer’ as Scheffler brushes-off injury to win The Players

PHOTO

With his victory at The Players Championship on the PGA Tour over the weekend, Scottie Scheffler (US) continues to dominate the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) which he has topped for a total of 79 weeks.

He also leads the season’s FedEx Cup Rankings and is the first player to win back-to-back titles at TPC Sawgrass in its 50-year history.

Scheffler seemed to be struggling with his neck and left shoulder on Friday afternoon – needing on-course attention from physios.

It could be a concern to some golfers, with The Masters less than one month away that an apparently injured golfer can still dominate tournaments – having previously won the Arnold Palmer Invitational the week before.

But perhaps credit also goes to the physios for getting Scottie and so many other golfers with injury niggles back on the fairways healthy - and so soon.

However, the game is traditionally cyclical and three weeks in golf is a long time. It is very difficult to dominate over a longer period – only time will tell if the 27-year-old can keep winning and stay hot, with family commitments of the couple’s first child coming up in late April.

Scheffler takes a well-deserved week off at this week’s Valspar Championship in Florida.

The field at Innisbrook Resort includes Xander Schauffele, Robert MacIntyre, Francesco Molinari, Matt Wallace, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

The Challenge Tour stays in India for a second week for the Kolkata Challenge at Royal Calcutta Golf Club. Hats off to UAE Passport Holder Joshua Grenville-Wood who fell just one shot short of a play-off with John Parry.

Grenville-Wood now stands in 16th place on the season-long Road to Mallorca Order of Merit Rankings where at the season's end, the top 20 players will earn promotion from the Challenge Tour to the DP World Tour. He has also jumped up from 519 to 432 in the OWGR.

The two Challenge Tour events in the UAE, are next on the Challenge Tour schedule - the Abu Dhabi Challenge at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club (April 18th – 21st 2024) and the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club (25th – 28th April 2024).

The DP World Tour returns with the Porsche Singapore Classic at Laguna National Golf Resort.

Shane Lowry has recently found some form on the PGA Tour and is in the field and Paul Casey makes a rare start on the DP World Tour as a sponsor’s invite.

Schedule

PGA Tour

Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th March, 2024

Valspar Championship

Venue: Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbour, Florida, US

Purse: $8.4 million

DP World Tour

Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th March, 2024

Porsche Singapore Classic

Venue: Laguna National Golf Resort, Singapore

Purse: $2.5 million

Challenge Tour