Scottie Scheffler Flames PGA Championship Officials After Hitting Rough Shot

Scottie went the hell off!

No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler blasted rules officials for how they dealt with the PGA Championship’s first round Thursday.

Scheffler was irked with the move prior to the round that didn’t permit golfers to have preferred lies. The Charlotte area was slammed hard with rain, and with this being the case, so was Quail Hollow Club earlier in the week. As a result, the majority of fairways had conditions of complete unpredictability.

Each Scheffler and his playing partner Xander Schauffele suffered from the rain-drenched grass. When they got to the 16th hole, which is already hard as it is, Scheffler popped the ball right down the center and ended up getting a mud ball.

When Scheffler made his next shot, it went to the left so far that it ended up bouncing and going right into the water placed beside the green of the 16th hole. Scheffler ultimately recorded a double bogey, with his score regressing from two under to even par. When Schauffele came up next, he nearly did the same thing. (RELATED: Rory McIlroy Proves Even More That He’s An Outright Prick)

Following the round, Scheffler was questioned regarding what happened, and it was clear as day that he was irritated that golfers weren’t allowed to use preferred lies given the conditions. Scheffler popped off with a response that was quite lengthy, expressing how he felt with his mud ball situation.

“By the way, this is going to be the last answer that I give on playing up or down,” said Scheffler. “I think when you’re looking at the purest forms of golf, like if you’re going to go play links golf, there’s absolutely no reason why links courses you should play the ball up. It doesn’t matter how much rain you get. I’ve played in ground under the turf.

“In American golf it’s significantly different. When you have overseeded fairways that are not sand capped, there’s going to be a lot of mud on the ball, and that’s just part of it. When you think the purest test of golf, I don’t personally think that hitting the ball in the middle of the fairway you should get punished for.”

You can read Scheffler’s full rant here.

Even the world’s best players have bad holes.

Scottie Scheffler keeps a positive mindset after rolling in a putt to save double at 16. #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/CBY2ettfhv

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025

Needless to say, the rest of the tournament will be interesting…