Scottie Scheffler presents a distinct atmosphere at Augusta compared to other prominent golfers.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — For the first time since 1994, both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be absent from the Masters. Woods is reportedly undergoing treatment and facing legal issues following his recent car accident. Mickelson is addressing a “personal health matter.”
Golf has had ample opportunity to adapt to a future without Tiger and Phil, with emerging stars and fresh narratives. Even if they had been present, neither of the players in their 50s would have been seen as frontrunners to win this week.
Nonetheless, they would have drawn the largest crowds and the most enthusiastic cheers.
“To be honest, the absence of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson from events, in golf, when they both step back, I genuinely believe it impacts the game,” Patrick Reed remarked this week.
They are charismatic, occasionally chaotic, and consistently highly competitive. They played a significant role in promoting the sport and certainly this tournament, which remains more significant than ever.
Currently, the most prominent name and top player in golf, Scottie Scheffler, represents a different persona.
Tiger and Phil, to varying extents, instilled a winning-is-everything mentality in the sport, accompanied by numerous off-course dramas and controversies. Scheffler seems to be a well-adjusted, soft-spoken, faith-oriented family man from Texas.
This week, he reiterated his desire for winning and losing not to define him. He mentioned his unfamiliarity with Instagram, which accounts for his irregular posting. On Wednesday, he made his way through the crowds to the practice green, carrying his putter solo, without a caddie, entourage, or security. Perhaps he assumed he would go unnoticed.
He appeared more at ease discussing his family — he and his wife Meredith have Bennett, who is nearly 2, and newborn Remy — than his golf game. For instance, Meredith is managing the midnight awakenings so he can rest during Masters week.
“My wife is a trooper,” Scheffler stated.
He sounds like any typical suburban dad; it’s just that being ranked No. 1 in the world for 186 consecutive weeks is his daily routine.
“Sometimes I feel like we live almost two separate lives,” Scheffler expressed.
In the past, being a golf star in this area carried a different connotation.
There is no shortage of competitiveness. At 29 years old, he has secured four major titles, including green jackets in 2022 and 2024. Such achievements are not coincidental.
Still, he is reluctant to overemphasize it, let alone discuss it.
“I would say it’s always been a struggle for me to find a balance between continuing to work hard, remaining competitive, and also not allowing my — whether my good golf or my bad golf — to define me because that could lead to one of two outcomes,” Scheffler explained.
“If I let my bad golf define me, I’d be quite an unhappy person. If I let my good golf define me, whether it’s a green jacket or an Open Championship, then I’d walk around quite arrogantly all the time. And I wouldn’t be very pleasant to others because I might think I’m special just because I’ve won a few tournaments.”
Perspective is key. Nonchalance is valued.
The golf remains exceptional.
Perhaps Scheffler embodies what this sport, if not society as a whole, requires at this moment. He is a champion who seeks something greater than himself, finding joy in more than just accolades and achievements. He may not generate the immediate excitement of past legends, but anyone who fails to recognize his contributions is missing the essence.
He impresses by not striving to impress and conveys confidence through humility. When it’s time to compete, he will be entirely focused. “Once you drive down Magnolia Lane,” he noted, “everything else fades away.”
Yet he commits to not allowing the final outcome to define his week.
“Most of the time in golf, you’re likely to feel a bit disappointed at the end of the week simply because there is only one winner, and many more losers,” Scheffler observed.
Moreover, parenting keeps one grounded.
“[Monday] night we were leaving a Nike party,” Scottie Scheffler recounted about trying to manage Bennett. “And he somehow ended up with two sugar cookies and he hadn’t eaten his dinner yet. It was like, ‘Okay, buddy, if you eat these sausages, I will give you this cookie.’ He’s like, ‘Cookie.’ I’m like, ‘if you eat this.’
He shrugged his shoulders.
“My friends are sitting there watching, ‘Yep, I’ve seen this movie before,'” Scheffler laughed.
It’s a new era in Augusta. New vibes, too.
