There’s an ongoing (ridiculous) debate over whether golf is a sport. As if Tiger Woods—at least, prime Tiger Woods—isn’t an all-time great athlete. Please. But while what happened earlier this week won’t keep some people dopes from questioning this, at the very least, this debate can shift to another activity: pickleball.
To be clear, we are not saying pickleball is not a sport, either. In fact, as someone who happened to excel in it during P.E. class a couple of decades ago, I’d very much like to think that it is a sport. And an important one at that for my self-confidence. But it’s a tough look when you’re world No.1 gets absolutely worked over by the world No.1 in another sport. Especially when that sport is golf.
And that’s exactly what happened at the Carvana PPA Tour Celebrity Showdown on Wednesday when Scottie Scheffler teamed up with Anna Leigh Waters in a match against former tennis player John Isner and current top-ranked pickleball player Ben Johns. Check it out as Scheffler and Johns become engaged in a rally at the net with the golfer coming out on top:
WHAT!? 😳 Scottie Scheffler just beat the world’s no.1 in a hands battle 👋🤺 pic.twitter.com/ToMwKO3HPP
— Carvana PPA Tour (@PPAtour) November 8, 2023
Scottie! What an athlete! Hey, the guy didn’t win the green jacket without having a golden set of hands.
OK, so it’s just one point, but it was an impressive one at that. And apparently Scheffler has really gotten into pickleball and is “pretty good” at the exploding sport, according to Waters, the top-ranked female player. So go one with your bad self, Scottie. And thanks for making all golfers look (a little) cooler.
