So, it’s not like Scottie Scheffler needs a free car. The three-time major winner just won $3.4 million at Quail Hollow with his PGA Championship victory, is constantly raking in money from Nike ads and reportedly made more then $100 million in 2024. And yet, a deal’s a deal.
There’s a man out there (perhaps in witness protection at this point) who still owes the World No. 1 a car off of a bet more than two decades ago, and he unfortunately never paid up. Scheffler broke down exactly what happened to us for a “New Kid on the Block” piece back in 2014. And as far as we know, the major champ is still waiting. At this point, a free car is one of the few golf trophies he doesn’t have.
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“There’s a yellow pole about 100 yards out on the range at Royal Oaks in Dallas,” Scheffler explained. “When I was 6 or 7, this guy said he’d give me five chances to hit the pole. If I did, he’d buy me a car when I was 17. My dad says I hit the pole twice. Still no car.”
It’s nice to know that you’re either born with accuracy or without it, and Scheffler won the lottery there. Hitting a pole 100 yards out two out of five times is nothing to scoff at, especially for a kid still learning the game.
This Golf Digest piece—with the question “Is he the next Jordan Spieth?”—dropped right after Scheffler finished high school and head off to the University of Texas, and you can tell. He’s bragging about hitting 20 three-pointers in a row, breaking down trash talk from his sister and analyzing his Torchy’s Tacos order. “Three breakfast tacos and a chicken queso” sounds just as tantalizing as a Wanamaker Trophy.
Over the last 11 years, Scheffler has obviously been a Golf Digest constant, from his green-to-tee instruction to his mental-game analysis, but we’re still waiting on the one story that truly matters: When this random golfer finally pays up and gifts Scheffler the car he owes him. A bet is a bet, even if it’s winds up taht you made it with somebody who would become one of best golfers in a generation.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
