Scottie Scheffler remains genuine and humble as he prepares for Masters defense
Perhaps you’ve been thinking that defending Masters Tournament champion Scottie Scheffler would have been changed by his mercurial success over the past 16 months.
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Well, you would be wrong – really wrong.
If anything Scheffler, the former standout golfer for the University of Texas and the current No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Rankings, is more “aw shucks” now than when he came to Augusta National Golf Club in 2022 as the hottest player on the planet.
He memorably walked away with his first major title and the coveted green jacket that comes with winning the world’s biggest golf tournament.
“You would think that I’m a significantly different person than I was a year and a half ago, but when it comes to life at home, everything is still the exact same,” Scheffler explained to the assembled media in his availability on Tuesday.
“Nothing changes at home. I still have the same friends; I married the same girl I dated in high school. My family definitely doesn’t treat me any different. It just so happens that we get to come to places like these on occasion and have fun.”
Scheffler is one of just three Longhorns’ players to win the Masters, along with Jordan Spieth and two-time winner Ben Crenshaw. Scheffler will try to join Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back winners of the Masters.
Ian Woosnam, Fred Couples, Woods, Dustin Johnson and Scheffler are the only players to win the Masters as No. 1 in the world.
Scheffler begins his defense of his Masters title on Thursday and is considered one of the tournament’s favorites. He arrives at Augusta National after wins at the Waste Management Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. and The Players Championship this season.
Scheffler has finished in the top 10 in six of nine stroke-play events he’s played in the 2023 campaign and he has not been worse than a tie for 12th.
His excellent play and consistency has kept him at the top of the rankings, where he’s considered one of the three best players in the world right now along with Jon Rahm of Spain and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.
Neither of those players have won the Masters and would give their eye-teeth to don the green jacket after this, the 87th Masters Tournament.
“For me to sit here and tell you guys I’m the best player in the world, that’s not really my style,” Scheffler said. “I learn a lot from all the people out here. I mean, I’ve learned a lot from all the guys that kind of came before me. I’m a student of the game. I like that aspect of the game that you can never perfect it.
“At the end of the day, (being No. 1) is an algorithm, but No. 1 is better than being No. 2 in the algorithm.”
Scheffler has made a few trips to Augusta since his win last year. He played an 18-hole round on right after The Players with his father Scott and his coach Randy Smith and went around on Sunday with his sister Callie Scheffler Paysse.
“I feel like I could never learn enough about this golf course,” Scheffler said. “Going into the tournament I tried to get a little bit of the memories and stuff from last year out of the way as early as I could. And so that’s why I played 18 on Sunday, but as far as the week has gone it’s been just normal stuff.”
The last thing on Scheffler’s mind this week is building a legacy at Augusta National – that’s just not what makes him tick.
“Legacy at the end of this is not really why play anytime,” he said. “Yes, anytime you can get mentioned in the same breath as Tiger and Jack and Nick Faldo it is really special, but it’s not a motivating factor for me to come out here and play. I’m just trying to come out here and do my best and play good golf and have fun.”
