2024 has been full of intriguing stories, on and off the golf courses. On the field, Scottie Scheffler was phenomenal with his play and was making headlines all year. However, he also became the talk of the town off the field.
The American golfer was arrested and spent a few hours in prison earlier this year. As 2024 draws to a close, below are some of the most talked about off-the-course golf stories of 2024.
Top 5 Off-Course Golf Stories from the 2024 Season
1. The arrest of Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler was stopped by Louisville Metro Police while heading to Valhalla Golf Course in May. While en route to the venue of the 2024 PGA Championship, the world No. 1 allegedly violated traffic rules and allegedly injured a police officer.
The American was arrested on charges of criminal mischief in the third degree, reckless driving, assault in the second degree and violation of traffic regulations. He spent a few hours in jail, but was later released and even played in the second round of the PGA Championship. It should be noted that the charges against the golfer were later dropped.
2. Rory McIlroy Divorce Reports
Rory McIlroy’s personal life was in the headlines earlier this year. In May it was reported that the Northern Irish golfer had filed for divorce from his wife, Erica Stoll.
However, the highly publicized divorce case was dropped, and in June 2024, the couple rekindled their romance. McIlroy didn’t talk much about his personal life while divorce rumors were circulating, but after news of the reconciliation spread, he opened up about his personal life. He said (via Times Now News):
“Over the past few weeks, Erica and I realized that our best future was to be a united family. Fortunately, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.”
3. Tiger Woods launched Sun Day Red
Tiger Woods surprised many in the golf world earlier this year after parting ways with Nike after 27 years. However, shortly afterward she announced her own clothing line called “Sun Day Red”, in collaboration with TaylorMade. The new clothing made headlines at the end of the year for its high-priced products.
4. Bryson DeChambeau teams up with Donald Trump for a surprising collaboration
Another interesting off-course golf story from 2024 was the unexpected collaboration of LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau and Donald Trump. They contributed to LIV’s popular golfer’s Break 50 channel before the US presidential election.
The video of the two taking on the Challenge accumulated a significant number of views on YouTube. As of this writing, it has over 13.5 million views.
5. Matt Fitzpatrick married Katherine Gaal
This year was special for English golfer Matt Fitzpatrick. In October 2024, he married his long-time girlfriend, Katherine Gaal.
The couple had been dating for some time and in January 2023 they made their relationship public on Instagram. Finally, in 2024, they got married.
Edited by Eeshaan Tiwary.