“My goal was definitely never to be a famous person. I just love playing golf” – Scottie Scheffler.
Destiny’s child. In the case of Scottie Scheffler, fame is something that has come his way whether he likes it or not. How he has dealt with it, though, is by being true to himself. The quiet man who, each year on his return to the Masters, is inclined to rediscover a sunken chair on the first floor patio of the clubhouse and, literally, find some peace by observing those below.
From his vantage point, Scheffler can look out to the first tee and the practice putting green and also down to the area where those patrons with access can shoot the breeze seated at tables under the parasols, sipping their beers or lemonades or whatever.
He’s hidden away, his vantage point a favoured place at Augusta National where Scheffler has twice had the green jacket as champion slipped onto his broad shoulders.
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Fame found Scheffler. For good reason. He is the best golfer on the planet, and has been for 134 weeks of his professional career. He has held that position over four different periods, but the most recent of those – which started on May 21st, 2023 – has now stretched to 99 straight weeks with no end in sight.
For someone who is fond of the quiet life, this past year has been one where his character was thrown curve balls.
Of all people, who would have imagined Scheffler being put into a police holding cell (as happened in Louisville ahead of the US PGA last year), his mugshot taken, given an orange jumpsuit to wear and prisoner number 3825869 given to him?
“I definitely never imagined ever going to jail, and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times for sure,” remarked Scheffler of the traffic incident as he drove into Valhalla, one which he termed a “big misunderstanding.”
All charges were subsequently dropped.
And Scheffler got back to doing what Scheffler does, winning tournaments. Through 2024, the American won nine times, including the Masters and an Olympic gold medal in Paris. His ninth win of the year came in the Hero World Challenge where he finished six shots clear of Tom Kim.
Then, he was back in the news again at Christmas. This time, it was for suffering a hand injury – on a broken wine glass – when rolling out the dough for ravioli. “I had my hand on top of it and it broke ... even if you’re like me and you don’t drink wine, you’ve got to be real careful with wine glasses. It broke and the stem kind of got me in the hand.”
The injury required surgery and delayed his return to the PGA Tour until the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am when the tournament started at the tail-end of January and finished in the first days of February. He finished ninth, in a tournament won by Rory McIlroy.
“I’m a right-handed golfer. So any sort of injury you have to that hand, especially a surgical one is going to have some sort of effect ... you know, it’s one of those things where you know, accidents happen. I’m going to live my life. I can’t live in a bubble. You know we were literally making Christmas dinner, and you know, sustained an injury. That’s the stuff that happens.”
Incidentally, in showing a somewhat mischievous side to his personality, Scheffler has included a new item on his Champions Dinner menu which will be served on Tuesday day: it is a starter called “Papa Scheff’s Meatball and Ravioli Bites,” the same dish – to his father Scott’s recipe – he was making when he suffered the hand injury.
Since returning to tournament play, Scheffler has played six times this year without winning. But the signs headed into Augusta National are of a player, with his unique shuffle when driving off the tee, back close to his dominant best. He finished runner-up to Min Woo Lee in the Houston Open a week ago, his fine tuner for the defence of the Masters.
“Definitely some positive momentum,” admitted Scheffler, before revealing his plan would be to head home to work with his coach Randy Smith.
Smith has been a constant in Scheffler’s golfing life, ever since he first swung a club at the age of six. He’s the guru who forged the swing which has made Scheffler the greatest player in the world.
Of that player-coach relationship, a lifetime bond, Scheffler observed: “It’s been over 20 years now he’s been teaching me. He’s a bit out of his mind sometimes. He’s getting older. He’s getting crazier and crazier by the day, but he is like a savant when it comes to the golf swing, he really is.
“The more I’m able to communicate to him how I’m feeling and the things that I want to feel in my golf swing, the better he gets at teaching. I mean, he’s the only person, really, that I’ve consulted with my swing my whole life. He’s kind of the driving force behind what I do. If there’s ever a question of something I want to change with whatever I’m doing, Randy is always the first person I go to. Whether it’s something with my body or I’m trying to work on something in the gym, he’s the first person I go to with all that stuff.
“He’s really the guy behind the scenes that, I would say, is running the show and you know from regripping my club to regripping my grip club to literally as far as the other side of the spectrum at the gym. He’s the guy that I consult everything for my golf swing.”
That swing has brought Scheffler – now 28 years old – some 13 wins on the PGA Tour, and two Major titles. Both of those Majors have come at Augusta National, in 2022 when Hideki Matsuyama did the honours of slipping the green jacket onto his shoulders and again in 2024 when Jon Rahm returned the favour of placing the famed garment on Scheffler.
Scheffler’s game and mind are tailor-made for Augusta National. He has played the Masters five times, winning twice and never finishing outside the top 25. He has never missed a cut. He is favourite again this time.
“Why does my game fit so well at Augusta National? I think the golf course is really difficult. You have to manage your way around the course, and I’ve done a very good job of managing my way around the course the last few years and hitting the appropriate shots when I need to and being in control of my ball ... the best way I could describe is, when I’m in control of my golf ball, I have very good strategy for playing the golf course.
“But at the end of the day, you’ve got to hit the shots. That’s what it is at Augusta. I could talk about it all day long about where to play it and the certain type of shot to hit. But if you don’t pull a shot off, you’re going to be punished out there. And the last few years, I’ve been pulling off the shots I’m trying to hit. I’m looking forward to try and tackle the golf course again this year.”
And, in keeping with his own traditions, his travel plans will involve arriving to Augusta National on Sunday. Last year, he invited his sisters to play the course with him. This year, it is his mother’s turn to accompany him in a round. All of which, in truth, is evidence of a man who, despite the fame, has kept his feet very much on the ground.
