GOLF: Scottie Scheffler excited Augusta shaping up for firm, fast Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler Back at Masters, Balancing Golf and Family Life

Scottie Scheffler sparked conversation last year when he admitted that winning doesn’t bring him true fulfillment—just days before capturing his fourth major title at the Open Championship.

Nine months later, the 29-year-old is back at Augusta National as a two-time Masters champion. He is also recently a two-time father, with wife Meredith giving birth to their son, Remy, last month.

Scheffler said he carefully separates his professional and personal life, making sure neither overshadows the other.

"I would say it's always been a battle for me trying to strike a balance between continuing to work hard, staying competitive, and also not having my—either my good golf or my bad golf—define me," he said Tuesday. "If I let my bad golf define me, I'd be a pretty miserable person. If I let my good golf define me, whether or not it's a green jacket or an Open Championship, then I'd walk around pretty arrogant all the time and I wouldn't be very nice to people."

Scheffler has already won 20 PGA Tour events, including two Masters titles at Augusta in 2022 and 2025. He has never finished outside the top 20 in six previous appearances at the tournament.

This week, he returned with his family, praising Meredith as a "trooper" for managing Remy's sleep schedule while caring for their older son, Bennett. That allows Scheffler to fully focus on golf, which remains a source of enjoyment for him—especially at Augusta.

"This place is almost a challenge in a sense that you need to be able to get your stuff done and go home because I could camp out on that range for days and continue to practice," he said. "It's a pretty nice place to be."

On Thursday, Scheffler begins his quest to become just the seventh player in history to win the Masters at least three times. He said the tournament is a dream for many American golfers and enjoys the quiet, respectful environment Augusta provides.

"I truly feel that once you drive down Magnolia Lane, everything else melts away, and you get to be here and be focused. There's not a lot of distractions this week," he said. "For us as players, it's really an enjoyable experience. The forecast looks great. It's going to get firm and fast, which increases the challenge. I'm excited to see how it plays this week."

Scheffler declined to speculate on the current state of his game. He hasn’t competed since tying for 22nd at The Players Championship and withdrawing from the Houston Open due to the birth of Remy. This season, he has a win at The American Express, two top-5 finishes, and later results of T12 at the Genesis and T24 at the Arnold Palmer.

"I try not to look too far in the past, I try not to look too far in the future," Scheffler said. "For me to think about the state of my game would take a little bit of work, which I don't want to do right now."

-Derek Harper, Field Level Media/Reuters