Scottie Scheffler, the world’s leading golfer and defending championship of many big tournaments, both shocked the golf village when being fined except for 5 sticks at The Masters 2025 after a fierce argument with the organizers. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon at the Augusta National Stadium, where Scheffler was in a stable form and was in the top of the championship candidates. However, everything has completely changed after he was accused of violating a term in the new law applied this year.

According to sources on the sidelines of the tournament, Scheffler used a technique to support the alignment of sticky sticks that were not allowed in the Green area. It is worth mentioning that this law has only been adopted by the World Golf Federation (R&A and USGA) a few weeks ago and has not been widely disseminated to all athletes, causing many people, including Scheffler, expressing surprise and protest.

After the referees discovered violations and announced the -5 -stick penalty, Scheffler responded violently at the yard. He loudly argued with the tournament officials and asked to review the situation, saying that he was not intentional and did not receive a clear notice of this new law before the tournament began. Some viewers present at the scene said they had witnessed Scheffler put sticks on the ground and walked out of the Green area with a disappointing face.

The deduction of 5 sticks caused Scheffler to drop seriously on the rankings, from the top 5 position falling in the middle of the board. For a golfer who is in high form and is expected to win the next Major title, this is a big shock both psychologically and competing results.

Facing the wave of reaction from the online community and fans, The Masters Organizing Committee has confirmed that the sanctioning decision is based on the new regulation that has been valid since March. They also said that all athletes have been informed before the tournament via email and official documents. However, the team of Scheffler still asserted that there was no information on this controversial law.

The public is dividing the incident. Some argue that the law is the law and needs to be strictly obeyed, while others ask questions about how the organizers disseminate the law and whether to apply such a strict penalty to an unintentional violation. Scheffler himself has not made an official statement after the incident, but according to his manager, the mood of this golfer is currently very tense and disappointed.

This incident not only directly affects Scheffler’s achievements but also sparked a major debate about the transparency and effectiveness of new regulations in professional golf.