Scottie Scheffler returns from injury at Pebble Beach

The PGA Tour shot in the arm comes after weeks of gloomy television ratings that served as NFL counter-programming.

His name is Scottie Scheffler.

The world No. 1 announced Friday afternoon that he will return to golf next week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, marking his first start of 2025 more than a month after a Christmas cooking accident that required surgery. .

Scheffler has long used the Pebble Beach Pro-Am as his staging site for his return to competitive golf after a long offseason return to competitive golf. The two-time Major champion cut himself with a broken glass while making ravioli over the Christmas holidays, an injury that required surgery to remove the glass. Scheffler has been away from his golf club for one of the longest stretches of his adult life in the four weeks since the injury, with his last public start coming in December in Las Vegas. Crypto.com Showdown held in Sri Lanka.

“I've never been good at reflection and things like that,” Scheffler said during Monday's press conference. “But as I've been sitting out post-surgery, I did take a little time to go back and look at some stuff from last year, mostly To help jog my memory.”

Scheffler enters the field at Pebble Beach having his best professional season in the past 25 years, a nine-win year that included a second Masters victory and an Olympic gold medal. The 28-year-old has established himself as one of the sport's premier figures at 24, and the Tour is counting on him to produce another similar season in 25 years to help fend off the sport as a whole. lagging TV ratings in .

Scheffler's announcement comes as the tour prepares for its second “Signature Event” at Pebble Beach during the 2025 season. This Tour's return to Monterey marks an important guide to the 2025 season, not only for those competing in 2025's strongest early season competition. The Pebbles is the tour's primary testing ground for high-paying, limited-field signature events. The new eight-tournament event each year aims to provide fans with a reliable series of high-combat events each season, recruiting the tour's best players to compete under one roof.

Last year, terrible weather forced the event to end after just 54 holes, a significant ratings loss for CBS and the Tour's hopes of a first full season of the signature event. The tour is promising, with better weather for this year's event (the forecast looks promising), and on Sunday afternoon, greater star power is another issue in the series' first year.

If nothing else, Scheffler's entry into Pebble marks a significant increase in intensity for the Wild. Fellow Texan Jordan Spieth will join the world No. 1 on his return to golf on the cliffs of the Monterey Peninsula. Spieth is back from a more complicated offseason surgery to address a tendon issue in his wrist that has plagued him the past few seasons.

It's hard to overstate the hopes for both players in 2025, which could have a huge impact on the future of Pro Golf. PGA Tour talks with Saudi PIF remain at deadlock to ensure peace for Pro Golf. While there is optimism that agreement will be drawn soon, the residual effects of Pro Golf's fracture show the cracks in the foundation of the sport. Fans have turned away from golf, with the Tour's average weekend attendance set to leave the sport in 2024, and last weekend's American Express draw was less than half Event’s 2024 audience.

Context helps understand the audience's data: The tour's numbers weren't helped by roping in the cable world, and the six-hour final round didn't hold back from the stars. Still, the basic truth remains stark: The PGA Tour has never needed its superstars more than now.

Good news? Scottie Scheffler on the tee.