Scottie Scheffler reveals passion for new sport as he’s tipped to ditch golf and go pro

Scottie Scheffler may be ranked as number one in World Golf Rankings, but the star has also shared a passion for an entirely different sport

Scottie Scheffler has revealed his passion for pickleball, and one player has tipped the golf star to turn pro.

The in-form 28-year-old currently tops the World Golf Rankings with a total of 757.25147 points, leagues ahead of second-placed Xander Schauffele who has 472.22409 points to his name. He also has two majors to his name in the form of 2022 and 2024 Masters tournament wins, as well as an impressive 13 victories on the PGA Tour in total.

He explained: “In the last week and a half I’ve actually played pickleball twice. I think those are the second and third times I’ve played since Bennett was born, so I’ve definitely slowed down quite a bit. The last off-season looked a bit different, but I still get out there and play a little bit.”

While he crafted a name for himself in the world of professional golf, it hasn’t stopped Scheffler from spending time on the pickleball courts, reportedly even going as far as competing in celebrity tournaments. And former pro Smylie Kaufman said that he could even see Scheffler turning pro in the sport after sharing a game with him and fellow golfer Sam Burns.

Speaking on his Smylie Show podcast, Kaufman said: “We had golf carts on the court lighting up the court, it’s late. And so we get to playing pickleball and I have a good serve, that was something that I was able to hang onto for a little bit, and then I really started to struggle getting returns back.

It was just mainly because the ball was moving so much, I started to realise that Scottie may be the best pickleball player on tour, and potentially good enough to turn pro. I don’t say that lightly because he’s the best pickleball player I’ve ever played against.”

For those who are unfamiliar with pickleball, it’s a bat and ball game which is played on a badminton-sized court with a shorter tennis net – and it has attracted a whole host of celebrities as of late, including Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Phelps, Will Ferrell, Billie Eilish, and even Leonardo DiCaprio.

It may be a while before we see Scheffler ditching the fairways and the greens for the courts in a professional space any time soon though, with the golfing great in impeccable form as of late. The titan won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in May, before taking The Players Championship the very next week.

He beat Ludvig Aberg by four strokes to win the Masters in April, before bagging the RBC Heritage just days later. Other wins from his 2024 season alone include The Memorial, The Travelers Championship, and the TOUR Championship, earning him in excess of £47.5m this year.