Scottie Scheffler’s Arrest Made Him $8 Million: Here’s How

Scottie Scheffler’s arrest at the 2024 PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky proved to be more of a benefit than anything else it could be construed as.

Why? It made him $8 million in bonuses as his popularity skyrocketed following the arrest, which was due to a miscommunication by officers who were handling a traffic incident.

Along with the mugshots and dynamic stretching in a jail cell, Scheffler managed to get something else from the arrest: $8 million.

New footage from Scottie Scheffler’s arrest at last week’s PGA Championship. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/EoAvugPGgC

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 23, 2024

The $8 million comes from the PIP bonuses the PGA TOUR hands out each year, which have been used to reward the ten most impactful golfers in a given year. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have routinely finished on top. 

Scheffler has never been #1 in PIP, one of the few things he hasn’t won. However, he edged out McIlroy for 2nd place this year, just behind Tiger Woods.

The arrest of Scottie Scheffler was arguably one of the most groundbreaking stories in all of sports in 2024, let alone golf. The best player in the world in handcuffs just a few weeks after he wore the Green Jacket for the second time was an event that nobody could have predicted.

The arrest helped push Scheffler’s popularity upward outside of PGA TOUR and golf loyalists. Scheffler, despite all of his success on the course, had not truly gained household name status until this happened.

This was the final iteration of the PIP program for the PGA TOUR.

Cover Image via Golf Magazine