LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Masters champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler wasn’t getting much work done on his golf game last week, but he was feeling pretty happy and comfortable at home with his family.
Scheffler’s wife Meredith gave birth to the couple’s first child — son Bennett — last Wednesday and he said the couple was able to spend some quality time during their first week of parenthood.
“At home it was a nice time to reflect a little bit on my career so far and where my life has gone,” Scheffler said. “I married my high school sweetheart and I always wanted to play professional golf and now I’m here. I was sitting there with a newborn in my arms and the green jacket in the closet. It was a pretty special time I think at home.”
But on Monday, it was back to work. Scheffler left his home in Dallas and flew to Louisville to prepare for the second major of the year — the PGA Championship, which starts on Thursday at Valhalla Golf Club.
Scheffler said he already missed his son “like crazy,” but noted the couple knew he needed to play in the PGA.
“It was not easy to leave the house Monday morning,” he said. “But like I said, I told my son as I was leaving, I was like, ‘I don’t want to leave you right now, but I need to.’ I’m called to do my job to the best of my ability.
“I felt like showing up Wednesday night wouldn’t really be doing myself a service this week when it comes to playing and competing in the tournament, so I had to show up, especially with the weather forecast, showing up, being prepared and ready to play and being back home as quick as I can.”
Scheffler will play in his fifth PGA championship and try to continue his amazing streak of recent hot play, which included a win at the Masters last month.
The 27-year-old Scheffler has won four of his last five starts, including the Masters and RBC Heritage in back-to-back weeks. He has not played since winning the Heritage, but he had a good excuse.
Scheffler said prior to the Masters that he would leave no matter when Meredith went into labor. He did not end up having to worry about that and was there for the momentous occasion for the couple.
During a 15-minute press conference at Valhalla, Scheffler repeated the word ‘nuts’ on multiple occasions.
The couple didn’t know the sex of the baby until he was born.
“So being able to tell my wife that it was a boy, yeah, it was a wild ride,” he said. “Extremely proud of Meredith after watching her go through that. It’s nuts. I’m glad it was her going through it and not me because I don’t know if I could have done it. It was pretty nuts.
“And the look on her face right after birth, she was just glowing, so proud of herself and so excited to have our little boy.”
Now Scheffler is preparing to play Valhalla for the first time as he tries to stay on his heater.
“I only played nine holes yesterday and today, so as the tournament goes on we’ll see how the course plays,” Scheffler said. “But with soft greens and soft fairways, I’d imagine the scores would be fairly low here. … I think what we’re looking for is be rewarded for good shots and punished for bad ones, and from what I’ve seen around this golf course, it seems like an appropriate test.”
–Jody Demling, Field Level Media
