Scottie Scheffler

Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one, first reaching the position in the Official World Golf Ranking in March 2022, and has held that ranking for over 90 weeks. He has won two major championships, both the 2022 and 2024 Masters Tournament. He became the first player to win The Players Championship in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024.

Early life and amateur career
Scheffler was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey on June 21, 1996. His father, Scott, grew up in Englewood Cliffs, and attended St. Cecilia High School in Englewood. His mother, Diane, grew up in Park Ridge. Scheffler was the only boy among four children. His sisters are named Callie, Molly and Sara. The family lived in Montvale, New Jersey, until Scheffler was aged six, when they moved to Dallas, Texas, in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Scheffler's father was a stay-at-home dad, while his mother worked as a chief operating officer at the law firm Thompson & Knight.

Scheffler's interest in golf began at age three, when his parents gave him a set of plastic clubs and ball. After the move to Dallas, he received tutelage at the Royal Oaks Golf Club under instructor Randy Smith, who coached Justin Leonard to a victory at The Open Championship in 1997. Scheffler had prolific success at the youth level, and won 75 times on the PGA junior circuit, competing against the likes of fellow Dallas-area native Will Zalatoris.

Entering high school, Scheffler was barely 5 ft in height, but experienced a large growth spurt and soon measured over 6 ft tall. The rapid growth caused back injuries for Scheffler, particularly during his sophomore year. He played golf and basketball at Highland Park High School in the Dallas enclave of University Park. At Highland Park, Scheffler won individual state titles three years in a row (2012 to 2014), matching a record set by fellow Texan Jordan Spieth. He also had success in AJGA events, won the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, and was the top-ranked junior golfer in the country in 2014. Scheffler made his PGA Tour debut in May 2014, as a 17-year-old amateur at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. With his sister Callie caddying for him, he made the cut. He recorded a hole-in-one in the third round and ultimately finished at 4-under-par, in a tie for 22nd place. He was ineligible for the $60,000 payout due to his amateur status.

Scheffler was then recruited to play collegiate golf at the University of Texas from 2014 to 2018, where he helped the team win three Big 12 championships and was named "Phil Mickelson Freshman of the Year" in 2015. He was also part of the U.S. team that won the 2017 Walker Cup. Scheffler was a member of the Texas Cowboys and graduated from the University of Texas in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in finance.

In 2016, Scheffler qualified for his first U.S. Open. He opened with a first-round 69, but would shoot a second-round 78 to miss the cut by one stroke. The following year, Scheffler again qualified for the U.S. Open, after surviving a 4-for-3 playoff to earn a spot in the field. He and Cameron Champ were the only two amateurs to make the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open. Scheffler finished as low amateur at 1-under-par, one stroke ahead of Champ.

2019: Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year
Scheffler earned his 2019 Web.com Tour card through qualifying school.

On May 26, 2019, Scheffler fired a bogey-free, 9-under 63 — playing the back nine in 30 — to force a playoff with 54-hole leader Marcelo Rozo in the Evans Scholars Invitational. He then birdied the second extra hole for his first Web.com Tour victory.

On August 18, 2019, Scheffler won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio. Scheffler shot 4-under 67 in the final round at Ohio State University's Scarlet Course for a two-shot victory. He totaled a 12-under 272 for the week and finished two shots ahead of Brendon Todd, Beau Hossler and Ben Taylor. This event was part of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals (the Web.com Tour was renamed the Korn Ferry Tour in mid-season). Scheffler led both the Finals points list and the overall points list to earn a fully exempt PGA Tour card for the 2020 season. He was later named Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year.

2020: PGA Tour Rookie of the Year
In his first start of 2020, Scheffler was tied for the lead alongside Andrew Landry after three rounds at The American Express. A final-round 70 saw Scheffler finish third, three shots behind Landry.

In August 2020, Scheffler finished tied for fourth at the 2020 PGA Championship. He won $528,000 in prize money in the tournament.

On August 21, 2020, Scheffler shot a 12-under 59 at The Northern Trust. His round was the joint second-lowest in PGA Tour history and just the 12th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.

Scheffler was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for the 2019–20 season.

2021: Ryder Cup debut
Scheffler recorded the first runner-up finish of his PGA Tour career in March 2021 at the WGC Match Play. He was defeated 2 & 1 by Billy Horschel in the final.

At the 2021 Masters Tournament, Scheffler tied for 18th. He then posted top-10 finishes at each of the three other majors: tied-8th at the 2021 PGA Championship, tied-7th at the 2021 U.S. Open, and tied-8th at the 2021 Open Championship.

In September 2021, Scheffler was named as a captain's pick by Steve Stricker for the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Scheffler went 2–0–1 including a win in his Sunday singles match against world number one Jon Rahm.

Later that fall, he switched caddies, replacing Scott McGuinness with Bubba Watson's former caddie, Ted Scott.

2022: Ascent to world number one, first Masters title
On February 13, 2022, Scheffler won his first ever PGA Tour title at the WM Phoenix Open on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff against Patrick Cantlay. Three weeks later, Scheffler won his second career PGA Tour title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida. He won by one stroke over Viktor Hovland, Billy Horschel and Tyrrell Hatton. Three weeks after that, Scheffler won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, defeating Kevin Kisner in the final match. With this win, Scheffler moved to world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.

On April 10, 2022, Scheffler won the Masters Tournament, defeating Rory McIlroy by three strokes. Scheffler became the fifth golfer to enter the Masters Tournament ranked No. 1 in the world and go on to win the Masters, joining Ian Woosnam (1991), Fred Couples (1992), Tiger Woods (2001, 2002) and Dustin Johnson (2020). The victory was his fourth for the 2022 PGA Tour season, making him the first golfer since Arnold Palmer in 1960, and only the second ever, to win as many events including the Masters in that span of time to begin a season. It was his fourth win in his last 6 starts.

At the 2022 PGA Championship, he missed the cut by two, his first at the major since he turned pro in 2018. On May 29, 2022, Scheffler lost the Charles Schwab Challenge in a playoff to Sam Burns after Burns made a 38-foot birdie putt. At the U.S. Open, he finished T-2, one stroke behind the winner Matt Fitzpatrick.

Entering the 2022 Tour Championship as the leader in the FedEx Cup standings, Scheffler started the tournament in first place with a 2-stroke lead in the starting strokes format. He extended his lead to 6 strokes after 54 holes, but shot a 3-over-par 73 in the final round to lose the tournament by one stroke to Rory McIlroy. This tied Scheffler for the PGA Tour record of largest 54-hole lead blown.

In September 2022, Scheffler was named 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year, earning the Jack Nicklaus Award for the first time.

Scheffler qualified for the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup; he lost three of the four matches he played, tying the other.

2023: Continued success, first Players Championship victory
In February 2023, Scheffler successfully defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open. He shot a final round 6-under 65 to beat Nick Taylor by two strokes. With the win, Scheffler returned to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.

In March, Scheffler won The Players Championship by five strokes and regained the number one ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in the year. It was the largest margin of victory in The Players Championship since Stephen Ames won by six in 2006. Scheffler joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the Masters Tournament and The Players Championship in a 12-month span.

As the defending champion at the 2023 Masters Tournament in April, Scheffler finished tied-10th. At the 2023 PGA Championship in May, he posted a final-round 65 to tie for 2nd, two strokes behind Brooks Koepka. This result returned Scheffler to the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler followed this with a 3rd-place finish at the 2023 U.S. Open in June.

In the 2022–23 season, Scheffler recorded 18 consecutive top-12 finishes, a streak only bettered by Tiger Woods in 2000–01. For the second year in a row, he entered the Tour Championship as the leader in the FedEx Cup standings, which gave him a starting score of 10-under-par, and a two stroke lead over Viktor Hovland. He finished in a tie for sixth place at 11-under-par, 16 strokes behind the winner, Hovland.

In September, Scheffler played on the U.S. team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Scheffler went 0–2–2, including a tie in his Sunday singles match against Jon Rahm. In the Saturday morning foursome match, the European pair Ludvig Åberg and Viktor Hovland defeated Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9 and 7, the biggest victory in an 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history.

In December, Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event on the PGA Tour with a 20-man field. He had finished as runner-up in both of the previous two years at the tournament.

2024: Six-win season, second Masters title
In March, Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the second time in his career. Scheffler ended the week at Bay Hill 15-under par, the lowest score since Rory McIlroy's 2018 win. The following week, Scheffler won The Players Championship to become the first back-to-back winner in the event's history. Scheffler shot an 8-under 64 in the final round to overcome a five shot deficit, matching the largest comeback by a Players Championship winner at TPC Sawgrass. In his next start at the Houston Open, Scheffler had a chance to win three events in a row. He was in the final group on Sunday and had a birdie putt from six feet on the 18th green to force a playoff. He missed the putt and finished in second place, one stroke behind Stephan Jäger.

In April, Scheffler won the Masters Tournament for a second time in three years. He finished 11-under par for the championship, winning by 4 shots over Ludvig Åberg of Sweden. Scheffler became the fourth-youngest player to have two Masters victories. Scheffler additionally joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to have multiple victories at both the Players Championship and the Masters. One week later, he followed up his Masters victory with a win at the RBC Heritage for his 4th win in five starts.

At the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Scheffler opened with a round of 67. He was arrested on Friday prior to his second round, but released in time to return to the course and shoot 66. However, in the third round, Scheffler broke his streak of 42 consecutive rounds of par-or-better on the PGA Tour with a two-over 73. He eventually finished the tournament tied 8th.

In his next start, Scheffler was in the final group on Sunday at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He ultimately finished runner-up, five strokes behind Davis Riley.

In June, Scheffler won the Memorial Tournament for his fifth win on the season. The win pushed him over $24 million in earnings for the year, breaking the PGA Tour season earnings record. Scheffler also become the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 to have won five times on the PGA Tour before the U.S. Open. Two weeks later, Scheffler defeated Tom Kim in a sudden-death playoff at the Travelers Championship to claim his sixth win on the season, becoming just the sixth player in PGA Tour history to do so before July.

Personal life
Scheffler met his wife, Meredith Scudder, in high school. They married in 2020. On May 8, 2024, their first child was born, a son.

Scheffler is Catholic. His sponsor for his confirmation in the Catholic Church was Rocky Hambric, founder of Hambric Sports, a sports management agency which has had Scheffler as a client since he turned professional. Scheffler attends Bible study with his caddie Ted Scott, who caddied for Bubba Watson for 15 years. When requesting Scott to be his caddie, Scheffler said "I really want to work with a Christian. That's how I try to live my life." Scheffler and his close friend Sam Burns co-host an annual retreat with members of the College Golf Fellowship, a faith-based ministry.

Scheffler appears in the sports documentary series Full Swing, which premiered on Netflix in February 2023.

In August 2023, Scheffler became an investor in the Texas Ranchers, a pickleball team.

On May 17, 2024, Scheffler was arrested at 6:20 a.m. near Valhalla Golf Club, the venue of the 2024 PGA Championship. He was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, a class-C felony, and three misdemeanors: third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. Scheffler was released on his own recognizance at 8:40 the same morning. The charges against Scheffler were dropped on May 29. Both Scheffler and the Louisville Metro Police Department agreed to not pursue legal action related to his arrest. Prosecutor Mike O'Connell stated that Scheffler’s characterization of the incident as a big misunderstanding' is corroborated by the evidence."

Amateur wins

 * 2011 Legends Junior Match Play Championship
 * 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur
 * 2014 Junior Invitational
 * 2015 Annual Western Intercollegiate, Big 12 Championship

Source:

PGA Tour wins (12)
PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

Korn Ferry Tour wins (2)
Korn Ferry Tour playoff record (1–1)

Results timeline
Results not in chronological order in 2020.

{{legend|lime|Win}} {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} LA = low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

 * Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (2022 U.S. Open − 2024 Open Championship, current)
 * Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (2021 PGA – 2022 Masters)

Results timeline
{{legend|lime|Win}} CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

Results timeline
1Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic {{legend|lime|Win}} {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} NT = No tournament "T" = tied Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.

PGA Tour career summary
* As of June 24, 2024 ** Scheffler was not a PGA Tour member until 2020, so he was not listed on the money list while playing as a non-member.

U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
 * Junior Ryder Cup: 2012 (winners)
 * Spirit International: 2013 (winners)
 * Eisenhower Trophy: 2016
 * Walker Cup: 2017 (winners)

Professional
 * Ryder Cup: 2021 (winners), 2023
 * Presidents Cup: 2022 (winners)