Scottie Scheffler, the reigning world number one and two-time Masters champion, discusses his meteoric rise. He opens up about the challenges of succeeding and having fun on the pro golf circuit. Scheffler has now amassed 16 career victories. After his historic debut victory at the PGA Championship, he’s now on the verge of chasing down his fourth major title. While gearing up for The Open, he notes life is more than won tournaments and championships.
Originally from Texas, Scheffler this year has truly emerged, starring at the Masters and winning three times, including two victories in a row in May. It came just two weeks after he completed an eye-popping 31-under at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. A mere 14 days later, he won the PGA Championship! Even with these successes, Scheffler struggles with the transitory nature of winning.
Scheffler reflected on the despair that some of the best athletes in the world go through. Then they achieve those high aspirations, perhaps even achieve No. 1 in the world, and look around and ask, “Now what’s the purpose?
Beyond his golf career, life has changed considerably for Scheffler since welcoming the first child into his family. His son, Bennett, was born in May 2024, and Scheffler makes being a parent come first, above all. I enjoy fatherhood, I enjoy providing for my son. I just enjoy being able to feed my family out here playing golf,” he said.
Scheffler enjoys the rush of his victories on the course. He finds it difficult to both celebrate those wins and plan for new, impending competition. It seems like you spend your entire career just to enjoy winning a championship for 10 minutes. But it only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling,” he said.
Scheffler’s heartfelt honesty even goes as far as how he views the role golf should play in his life. This is all there is to me,” he described. To them, he admitted, it’s sometimes hard to figure out why winning matters so much in his life.
He contemplates the pressure of continual success in professional sports: “If I win, it’s going to be awesome for about two minutes. And then next week will come, and you’ll be over the moon. Then you go, “Oh hey, I won two majors this year! How significant is it to you to become the first player to repeat as the winner of the FedEx Cup playoffs?’”
With Scheffler headed to The Open next, he is controlled and focused and is sure to keep the same balance in professional career and home life. While he cherishes the joy that comes with playing golf professionally, he recognizes that true fulfillment lies beyond accolades and trophies.
