The year 2024 was pretty … strange, and I'm just talking about inside the ropes of the golf world. Scottie Scheffler was the man to beat as he claimed nine trophies, including his second major championship at the Masters, and racked up north of $30 million in earnings. Oh, he also won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Outside the ropes, Scheffler was also the top headliner as a run-in with the law ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship caught the attention of the broader sports world. The sport took center stage that day in Louisville as news networks flooded onto the scene, social media reached its peak and Scheffler warmed up in his jail cell.
But what about everything else?
There was a climate protest on the 18th green in the fourth round of the Travelers Championship where Scheffler faced off against Tom Kim in the final signature event of the season. An average joe was called upon to caddy at the Canadian Open by C.T. Pan when his normal bag man, Mike "Fluff" Cowan, took a spill. He lasted only a couple holes before Pan thought better of it.
Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth got testy with one another at The Players Championship. Hideki Matsuyama's caddie was robbed. Si Woo Kim channeled his inner Steph Curry. McIlroy and Shane Lowry sang "Don't Stop Believing" after winning the Zurich Classic.
That's what didn't make it into the season superlatives below.
So, how about we check them out. Tournament of the year, player of the year, shot of the year -- that's all been done before -- so instead, let's look at all that happened in the world of golf through a different lens.
Least likely to take another Maui vacation in January: Jon Rahm
It happened only a few days into the year, and it may still well be one of the low-key funnier stories from the year. Fresh off signing with LIV Golf for gobs of money, Rahm decided to keep his regular schedule and vacation in Maui the first week of January. Why is that noteworthy? Because the PGA Tour was in town, too, and Rahm would have served as the defending champion at The Sentry if he was still with the league. It was reported a few PGA Tour members exchanged awkward pleasantries with the Spaniard during a chance encounter on the island during the early part of the week. The perfect start to a bizarre year.
Most likely to regret speaking: Rory McIlroy
If these honors had been around in 2023, McIlroy may have won for his back-and-forth stance on LIV Golf, but he wins this year for a different slip. Joining the CBS broadcast at the Genesis Invitational, the four-time major champion was offered an opportunity to analyze Scheffler and his poor run of putting as he finished up the tournament.
"I've certainly been through my fair share of putting woes over the years, and I finally feel like I've broken through and become a pretty consistent putter," McIlroy said. "For me, going to a mallet was a big change. I really persisted with the blade putter for a long time, but I just feel like your stroke has to be so perfect to start the ball on line, where the mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error.
"So, I'd love to see Scottie try a mallet. But selfishly for me, Scottie does everything else so well that he's given the rest of us a chance."
And the rest is history. The next time Scheffler showed up to a tournament it was with a mallet in hand, and the winning commenced. Winless in his first five tournaments of 2024, the world No. 1 went onto to win nine times in his next 16 starts highlighted by victories at the Masters, Players Championship and Olympics.
Most likely to hit a roof ball (on purpose): Jordan Spieth
Well, there was only one nominee (that I know of), and it is exactly who you would suspect. Spieth's season got off to a decent start, but he came to the Texas Open looking for form ahead of the year's first major championship. I guess you could say he found it (he won a car via hole-in-one), but he also found himself in a precarious situation on Saturday.
Hitting his tee shot into the cactus on the par-5 18th, Spieth's recovery attempt led him inside the hazard lines next to a large sewer. Only Spieth could pull off what happened next. After discussing his options with a rules official, the Texan propelled his third onto the roof of an adjacent building and received free relief. Shockingly, it proved to be a mistake as a three putt followed, and the whole ordeal produced a bunch of hoopla for what resulted in a double bogey. The Texas Open marked Spieth's last top-10 finish of 2024, but at least it was a memorable one.
Cinema.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 6, 2024
Jordan Spieth hits it onto the ROOF of the clubhouse @ValeroTXOpen. https://t.co/5S5ROxqmmG pic.twitter.com/H0obEXNOju
Most likely to be asked to change clothes: Jason Day
As the self-proclaimed traffic cop at the intersection of professional golf and fashion, I have found myself on both sides of Day's attire choices in 2024. There has been some good (Round 2 of Wells Fargo Championship) and some bad, but the conversation reached its peak at the Masters when Day donned a sweater vest to remember.
Playing alongside Tiger Woods, the Australian returned to the golf course early Friday morning to complete his first round wearing a "busy" sweater vest. Drawing comparisons to a pack of cigarettes, Day's garb went wild on the internet. It was not for long, however, as Augusta National understandably asked him to remove it.
Most likely to yell at a fan: Zach Johnson
The WM Phoenix Open turned into a scene from the movie "World War Z" this year, and the former U.S. Ryder Cup captain took it upon himself to fight back against the Scottsdale zombies. After teeing off on the par-5 15th in the third round, Johnson got involved in a spat with a heckling fan, yelling, "Don't 'sir' me. Somebody said it; I'm just sick of it. Just shut up."
He wasn't the only one to mix it up with locals that week as Billy Horschel dished it out as well, but Johnson wasn't done in 2024. A couple months later, the Masters champion was caught expressing his displeasure towards the patrons of Augusta National following a triple bogey on the par-3 12th. Johnson did not necessarily deny the claim, but only because it was on camera.
"That I swore at the patrons? That's laughable. That's completely laughable," Johnson said. "I can't hear the patrons, number one. Number two, I just made a triple bogey on the 12th hole that evidently is going to make me miss the cut, which at the time I knew was pretty sensitive in the sense that I needed to keep making pars.
"If I've said anything, which I'm not going to deny, especially if it's on camera, one, I apologize, and two, it was fully directed towards myself entirely because I can't hear anything behind me. Does that make sense?"
Least likely to be arrested again: Scottie Scheffler
It was the moment of the year in golf, bar none. Arriving at the PGA Championship as a winner in four of his last five tournaments including the Masters, Scheffler sure looked like he would raise the Wanamaker Trophy at Valhalla. Nothing could stop the world No. 1 after an opening 67 ... except for a traffic stop gone wrong outside the golf course Friday morning.
Placed under arrest by Louisville Metro Police, Scheffler was briefly sent to jail and would have missed his second-round tee time if not for a weather delay. Charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic, Scheffler was then released and went onto to card a 66 in Round 2 to remain in contention.
Unfortunately, Scheffler fell off the pace on Saturday without Ted Scott on the bag, but fortunately, all charges were ultimately dropped as common sense prevailed. I'd also like to think Det. Bryan Gillis got his hands on a new pair of pants.
Most likely to be more appreciated in 2034: Xander Schauffele
Scheffler won seven more tournaments than Schauffele in 2024 but one fewer major championship. What Schauffele did this year has gone largely under appreciated. Despite Scheffler's dominance, Schauffele has became the most well-rounded player in the world. Ranking inside the top 25 in each strokes-gained metric, Schauffele knocked the major door down at the PGA Championship and put together one of the best rounds of the year Sunday at The Open en route to raising the Claret Jug.
He joined a list that includes Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and Spieth as the only players to finish inside the top 10 in all four majors with two (or more) wins in the same season. He also holds the longest made-cut streak (56) since Woods' 142 in a row.
Most likely to get a job without applying: Keegan Bradley
While Europe went back to the well with Luke Donald as its captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup, the United States went to left field. Woods was unavailable to lead the charge at Bethpage Black due to his commitments to the PGA Tour; that left the PGA of America searching for answers.
The answer was, ultimately, Keegan Bradley. The news shocked the golf world and Bradley himself given the 2011 PGA Championship winner did not have the faintest idea that he was even being considered for the job. And why would he? The 38-year-old is currently the seventh-highest ranked American at world No. 12 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
"I didn't have one conversation with anybody about this until I was told I was the captain," Bradley explained during his introductory press conference. "I got a call from Seth [Waugh, PGA of America CEO] and John [Lindert, PGA of America president] and Zach [Johnson], and I had trouble talking.
"When they called me, I felt funny after the call because I don't think I reacted in the way they were expecting me to. I was in complete shock. It was heavy. I was a little bit uncomfortable with some of the guys -- my idols -- that were looked over for this position. I needed a second to figure that out. I don't think I'll ever have a bigger surprise in my life."
