[PHOTO: Icon Sportswire]
We witnessed another masterclass from Scottie Scheffler in securing a four-shot victory at Augusta National and a second Masters title. It was yet another machine-like performance from the 27-year-old, who entered the 2024 Masters as the heavy favourite and got it done – the first time since 2005 that the tournament favourite won the Masters. We were reminded of an awkward exchange in the media room ahead of the 2022 Masters, in which a European reporter stumbled over a question in which he asked Scottie Scheffler: “I’ve been asked a lot, like, what are you like?… I have no idea other than you being a very, very good golfer.”
Scheffler politely laughed off the question that day, recommending the reporter ask his wife. We’ve gotten to know Scottie a bit since 2022, as he has amassed nine PGA Tour wins and now two Masters. But you still might not know too much about him off the course.
Allow us to tell you all about golf’s superstar.
1. Scottie Scheffler grew up in Texas but lived in northern New Jersey until he was 6 years old.
Though he’s grown up in Texas most of his life, he’s got strong Jersey roots. His mother, Diane, was high school classmates of the late actor James Gandolfini at Park Ridge High School. His father, Scott, attended St Cecilia’s High School in Englewood, New Jsersey (where the legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi was a gym teacher).
When Diane got a job as chief operating officer of a law firm in Dallas, the Schefflers moved.
The new Masters champion recalled hitting shots in his backyard when asked about his Jersey upbringing during Masters Week. Scheffler called himself a Bruce Springsteen fan thanks to his Jersey roots.
2. The Schefflers borrowed money to join Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, mostly so that Scottie had a place to practise. He began working with his swing coach, Randy Smith, at age 6.
Smith, a mainstay on Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers ranking and coach to Justin Leonard, Colt Knost, Harrison Frazar and other tour pros through the years, recalls meeting Scheffler when he was “no more than three-foot tall”.
This practice session may explain Scottie Scheffler’s dominance – what you can learn
“I walked down, his parents were there and they introduced him,” Smith recalls, “and he took his hat off, shook my hand, then went back to hitting balls.”
Scheffler grew up dreaming of being able to hit on the side of the Royal Oaks range where the tour pros practised. Now he does…
3. Up until high school, Scheffler played many sports, including lacrosse, basketball, baseball and football.
Scheffler was short for his age until he hit a growth spurt during his sophomore year of high school. He still loves basketball – telling Golf Digest in 2014 that it’s his favourite sport to watch on TV – and while shooting around, he once hit 30 three-pointers in a row.
He always knew, though, that golf was his sport. As he told our Keely Levins in 2018: “In high school, I narrowed it down to just basketball and golf. My whole life, I knew how much I loved golf. It was the one sport I always wanted to be playing, regardless of the season.”
4. Scheffler attended Highland Park High School in Dallas, the same high school where Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and LA Rams quarterback Matt Stafford went (though Scheffler is younger than them).
Scheffler’s first PGA Tour win came on Super Bowl Sunday at the WM Phoenix Open, the same day when Stafford won his career-changing Super Bowl with the Rams.
5. In high school, Scheffler started dating his wife, Meredith, and they’ve been together ever since.Â
Meredith was new to Highland Park in her sophomore year, and recalls sitting next to Scottie in a maths class. They started dating as seniors.
Scottie calls Meredith his best friend. And she has clearly been a huge influence on him. Ahead of the final round of the 2022 Masters, Scottie admitted that he was “crying like a baby” on that Sunday morning, unsure if he could handle the pressure. It was Meredith who assured him to be himself and trust the game that got him in that position.
6. Meredith missed Scheffler’s 2024 Masters victory, as the due date for the Schefflers’ first child is a few weeks after the tournament.
Scottie shared a house with his mate Sam Burns, whose wife was also expecting, during the 2024 Masters.
7. He won the US Junior Amateur and earned an invitation to play in his first PGA Tour event at age 17.
Among many amateur accomplishments, this was the biggest. Scheffler defeated current PGA Tour player Davis Riley, 3&2, at Martis Camp in Truckee, California.
8. In his first PGA Tour event as an amateur, he made a hole-in-one.
An esteemed collegiate career at the University of Texas then set expectations high for Scheffler as he turned pro.
Scheffler won national Freshman of the Year honours after winning back-to-back events (the Big 12 Championship and Western Intercollegiate) and was named to the 2017 Ben Hogan award watch list.
9. When he won the 2022 Masters, Scheffler still drove the same car he had in college, a Chevy Suburban with more than 280,000 kilometres on it.
Scheffler’s father handed his old car to Scottie while he was in college. Scottie was still driving the car when he won the 2022 Masters, we’d guess he has splurged on a number of new rides with the more than $US58 million in on-course earnings he’s accumulated in his young PGA Tour career.
Masters 2024: The clubs Scottie Scheffler used to win at Augusta National
10. Scheffler represented the US at the 2017 Walker Cup, as a part of a star-studded squad.
The team, which consisted of current PGA Tour pros Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Maverick McNealy, Cameron Champ, Doug Ghim and Doc Redman, crushed the GB&I side, 19-7, at Los Angeles Country Club.
11. At the 2020 Northern Trust, Scheffler shot a 59 in the second round.
12. Major championship success came early for Scheffler – even as an amateur.
He was the first-round leader at the 2016 US Open at Oakmont as a 19-year-old college sophomore, where his sister, Callie, caddied for him. (She played golf at Texas A&M University.) Scheffler said that week: “I’m glad she was able to get the week off to come help me out. She’s a week into an internship, and she’s already asking for a week off. Hopefully she doesn’t get in trouble.”
Scheffler would also finish as low amateur at the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills [below].
The Texan’s victory at the 2024 Masters gave him 10 top-10 finishes (including his two Masters titles) in just 18 major starts. His other close calls include the 2020 PGA at Harding Park, the 2022 US Open (T-2, duelling with Matt Fitzpatrick on Sunday), the ’23 PGA (T-2) and third at the ’23 US Open.
13. Scheffler’s stretch over the past two years might be the best since peak-Tiger Woods in 2000.
Data Golf has assessed the best stretches of golf of all time according to strokes gained and its proprietary data, and ahead of the 2024 Masters, they called Scheffler’s stretch the fourth-best, behind Tiger in 2000, David Duval in 1999 and Vijay Singh in 2004.
Now with his 2024 Masters performance, it’s easy to argue that Scheffler is the best player post-Tiger.
14. In winning the 2022 Masters, Scheffler joined Ian Woosnam as the only players to win the Masters in their next start after becoming world No.1.
Scheffler also joined Woosnam, Fred Couples, Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson as the only players to win the Masters while being ranked world No.1.
15. With first-place winnings of $US3.6 million, Scheffler has now made more than $US57.5 million in his career – which places him 12th on the all-time PGA Tour career earnings list.
Of course, those are just on-course earnings. Endorsement opportunities will continue to come for Scheffler, who’s currently the sport’s biggest star outside Tiger Woods.
