Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler's journey began in Ridgewood, N.J., where he was born. His parents, Scott and Diane, moved the family to Dallas when he was 8 years old. Along with his three brothers and sisters, they played golf at Highland Park. Through the years, family vacations were forsaken to trek by station wagon to junior tournaments nationwide. Most of them were Scottie's events, but all four kids once played in a tournament in Greenville, Miss., where then-6-year-old Sara recorded the family's first (and still it's only) double eagle. The Schefflers joined Royal Oaks Country Club, where Scottie spent a lot of time and learned from instructor Randy Smith, who was teaching Justin Leonard, Colt Knost, and other pros. Scheffler attended the same high school as Super Bowl champion quarterback Matthew Stafford. That begs the question, When was the last time guys from the same high school won a Super Bowl and a PGA Tour event on the same day? The pair did it in 2022. Scheffler's decorated junior career included a victory at the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur at Martis Camp Club in Truckee, California, defeating Davis Riley 3 & 2 in the final. A month later, he became only the second reigning U.S. Junior winner since 1986 to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. He was defeated by Brady Watt, 1-up.
After signing his National Letter of Intent to play at Texas, Golfweek ranked him as the No. 1 junior player in its Class of 2014, the same spot he would earn in the AJGA Polo Golf Rankings at the end of his junior career. Scheffler was a member of the 2016 U.S. World Amateur Team. Recipient of the 2015 Phil Mickelson Award for being the nation's best freshman golfer. He was also named 2015 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Scottie was also part of the U.S. team that won the 2017 Walker Cup.
At 17, he played in his first PGA Tour event and finished T-22nd at the HP Byron Nelson.
After graduating from Texas in 2018, he received two PGA Tour exemptions after turning professional but earned his way onto the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour via Q-School in December of 2018, finishing T-34th.
2019 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 20; In Money - 16; Top-10 Finishes - 10; Scoring Average - 69.28 (rank 1st); Regular Season Money - $565,338 (rank 1st); Winner, Evans Scholars Invitational, Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. He also finished 2nd at the Savannah Golf Championship and Nashville Golf Open, where he lost in a playoff. On the Korn Ferry Tour, his playoff record was 1-1.
2020 Notes: He played in 23 PGA Tour events in his rookie season, making 18 cuts with seven top-10 finishes. He was 5th in the FedExCup standings. His first start of the season finished T-7th at The Greenbrier. He was T-3rd at Bermuda Championship, T-5th at The RSM Classic, and 3rd at The American Express, three strokes behind winner Andrew Landry. After the break for COVID-19, he got his game rolling with four rounds in the 60s to finish T-15th at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Next week, he shot 65-68 over the weekend to finish T-4th and three strokes behind winner Collin Morikawa at the PGA Championship. The roll continued through the FedExCup Playoffs, as he was T-4th at the Northern Trust. He was T-20th at the BMW Championship and 5th at the Tour Championship, shooting 66-65 over the weekend. He was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and, after winning Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year in 2019, became the third player to be named Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in successive seasons, joining Stewart Cink (1996-'97) and Sungjae Im (2018-'19).
2021 Notes: Played in 29 PGA Tour events making 24 cuts with eight top-ten finishes. Was T-22nd in the FedExCup standings. Even though he had yet to win on the PGA Tour since he was in the top 30 of the 2020 season got into the Sentry Tournament of Champions and finished T-13th. Was T-7th at the Waste Management Phoneix Open. Finished 5th at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession, earning his first top-five in a WGC event. Things got better in his next WGC start at the Dell Technologies Match Play as Scheffler made it out of group play by making a birdie on the 2nd playoff hole to beat Xander Schauffele, then beat Ian Poulter, Jon Rahm, and Matt Kuchar to make the finals. But he lost to Billy Horschel 2 & 1 to finish 2nd. He was T-8th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Bubba Watson. He was T-3rd at the Memorial, two shots back of the Cantlay/Morikawa playoff. He finished T-7th at the U.S. Open and was five back of winner Jon Rahm. At the British Open was four shots back going into the final round but shot 71 to finish T-8th. In the FedExCup Playoffs was T-43rd at the Northern Trust and T-22nd at both the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. He played in his first Ryder Cup and finished with a 2-0-1 record to help team USA win at Whistling Straits. In the singles, Scheffler won his match with Jon Rahm 4 & 3. At the Hero World Challenge was 2nd one shot back of winner Viktor Hovland.
2022 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour events making 21 cuts with eleven top-ten finishes. He was 2nd in the FedExCup standings.
Shot a final-round 66 at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba to finish 4th, six shots back of winner Viktor Hovland. Next week was T-2nd at the Houston Open. He held the 54-hole lead, shot 69 in the final round, and was beaten by Jason Kokrak, who shot 65 to win by two. He got his first PGA Tour victory at the Phoenix Open, defeating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff with a birdie on the third extra hole. He Won in his first playoff on Tour in his 71st start at age 25 years, 7 months, 23 days. The next week was T-7th at the Genesis Invitational, seven shots back of winner Joaquin Niemann. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational by one shot, earning his second PGA Tour title 21 days after his first. Recorded a 72-hole total of 5-under (283), the highest relative to par by a Tour winner since the 2020 BMW Championship. He defeated Kevin Kisner, 4 and 3, in the championship match to win the WGC-Dell Match Play, earning his third career PGA Tour victory and third in a five-start stretch. He became the first player to win three times during the season. The victory came 42 days after his first (Phoenix Open) win; he became the first player to go 42 days or fewer between his first and third career victories since David Duval in 1997. Became the first player to win the event after losing in the championship match the year prior since Kevin Kisner in 2019, and the first to win a Tour event a year after finishing runner-up since Dustin Johnson at the 2020 Masters. He moved to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. Earned his first major championship title and fourth PGA Tour win in a six-start stretch, winning the Masters Tournament by three shots over Rory McIlroy. He entered the week No. 1 in the FedExCup standings and Official World Golf Ranking. He became the sixth World No. 1 to win the Masters and the sixth player to win in his first PGA Tour start as World No. 1. He became the first player to win on the PGA Tour and win a major in his next start since Jordan Spieth in 2017. Became the first player to win in consecutive starts during the FedExCup Regular Season since Brendon Todd in 2019. Missed the cut at the PGA Championship, but the next week was 2nd at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He was in a playoff with Sam Burns. They held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds but didn't make a birdie in the final round. Burns won the playoff on the first hole by making a 38-foot birdie. He finished T-2nd at the U.S. Open, his third runner-up of the season. He holed out for eagle twice and was the only player in the field to record multiple eagles. In the British Open, he shot 74 in the final round to finish T-21st. In the FedExCup playoffs, missed the cut at the FedEx St. Jude and finished T-3rd at the BMW Championship, three shots back of winner Patrick Cantlay. He regained the #1 spot in the FedExCup standings entering the TOUR Championship. Entered the final round of the Tour Championship with a six-shot lead, struggled early with bogeys on three of the first six holes. He shot 73 in the final round finishing T-2nd, losing by a shot to Rory McIlroy. Became the eighth player in PGA Tour history to enter the final round by six strokes or more and not win and the first since Dustin Johnson at the 2017 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. He earned $14,046,910 in official money, becoming the first player in PGA Tour history to surpass $14 million in a single season. He participated in his first Presidents Cup but had a 0-3-1 record. Sebastian Munoz beat him in the singles 2 & 1.
2023 Notes: He played in 23 PGA Tour events, making 23 cuts and 17 top-ten finishes. He was sixth in the FedExCup standings. Won multiple times on the PGA Tour for the second consecutive season, successfully defending his title at the WM Phoenix Open and winning THE Players Championship three starts later. Held the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking in four different stints, including the beginning and end of the season. Recorded 13 top-fives and 17 top-10s, both high marks for any player in a single season on the PGA Tour since 2005, when Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods each had 13 top-fives, and Singh had 18 top-10s. Did not miss a cut in 23 starts. Earned $21,014,342 in Official Money, becoming the first player to earn $20 million or more in a single season.
Shot a final-round 9-under 62 to finish T-3rd at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, five shots back of winner Russell Henley. He was T-9th at the Cadence Bank Houston Open and 2nd at the unofficial Hero World Challenge, two shots back of winner Viktor Hovland. He was T-7th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and T-11th at the American Express. Successfully defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open, shooting a final-round 65 to beat Nick Taylor by two shots. He was T-12th at the Genesis Invitational and T-4th in his defense at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He won his next start at The Players Championship by five shots over Tyrrell Hatton, earning his sixth career PGA Tour title and second of the season. The victory came in his 97th start at age 26 years, 8 months, and 19 days. He became the ninth player to win The Players and the Masters Tournament and the third to hold both titles simultaneously, joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Became the sixth player to record four rounds in the 60s (68-69-65-69) at The Players since the tournament moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982. His five-shot victory was the largest margin of victory at The Players since Stephen Ames in 2006. He led by two shots entering the final round, improving to 3-for-7 with the 54-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour. In defending his WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, he went 3-0-0 in group play, beating Davis Riley, Alex Noren, and Tom Kim. In the round of 16, beat J.T. Poston 1 up, then defeated Jason Day 2 & 1 in the quarterfinals. In his semifinal match with Sam Burns, they had to go into a playoff. Scheffler had a five-footer on the second extra hole to win but missed. On the next hole, Burns, from 15 feet, made his birdie to win in 21 holes. In the consolation match with Rory McIlroy, he lost 1 up to finish 4th. He was T-10th at the Masters and T-11th at the RBC Heritage. Shot 64-64 to open the AT&T Byron Nelson to lead going into the weekend. He was derailed with a third-round 71 but shot 65 in the final round to finish T-5th, three shots back of winner Jason Day. Held a share of the 36-hole lead at the PGA Championship and went on to finish T-2nd, two shots back of winner Brooks Koepka. It was his sixth career runner-up on the PGA Tour and second in a major championship. Shot a final round 67 to finish T-3rd at the Charles Schwab Challenge, a shot back of the Emiliano Grille/Adam Schenk playoff. Finished 3rd at the Memorial Tournament, a shot back of the Viktor Hovland/Denny McCarthy playoff. For the week, Scheffler gained 20.692 strokes from tee to green, the highest Strokes Gained: Tee to Green figure since Vijay Singh at the 2004 Deutsche Bank Championship. Led the field in SG: Tee to Green, SG: Off the Tee, SG: Approach the Green, and SG: Around the Green (finished 65th of 65 players in SG: Putting). At the U.S. Open, he finished 3rd, 3 shots back of the winner Wyndham Clark. It was his third consecutive top-10 in the U.S. Open (T-2nd at Brookline, T-7th at Torrey Pines). In his last 13 majors, he has finished in the top 10 in nine of those starts and been inside the top 10 at the conclusion of 28 out of the last 44 major championship rounds. Was T-4th at the Travelers Championship, four shots back of the winner Keegan Bradley. Scheffler did it again, finishing T-3rd at the Genesis Scottish Open five shots back of winner Rory McIlroy. After finishing T-23rd at the British Open, was T-31st at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Was T-2nd at the BMW Championship, two shots back of winner Viktor Hovland. Was T-6th at the Tour Championship. Scheffler finished the season in the top 12 in 18 PGA Tour starts, starting at Mayakoba last November and ending with his T-3rd at the Genesis Scottish Open. This also doesn't include that he was 2nd in the unofficial Hero World Challenge in December. Played in his second Ryder Cup and was 0-2-2. Halved his singles match with Jon Rahm. Ended the year winning the Hero World Challenge, three shots over runner-up Sepp Straka.
2024 Notes: After the second round of The Sentry, he held a one-shot lead and went on to finish T-5th, his first career top-five at the event. He held a share of the lead after the second round and went on to finish T-6th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was shortened to 54 holes due to weather and safety concerns. He finished T-3rd at the WM Phoenix Open, three shots back of the Nick Taylor/Charley Hoffman playoff in his attempt to win the event for a third consecutive year. Was T-10th at the Genesis Invitational, then shot a final round 66 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots over Wyndham Clark, earning his seventh career PGA tour title and second at the event. Became the eighth player with multiple wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Recorded the largest margin of victory at the event since Tiger Woods in 2012 (5). 72-hole total of 15-under 273 was the lowest at the Arnold Palmer Invitational since Rory McIlroy in 2018 (270). Led the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, SG: Tee to Green, and SG: Around the Green. Led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting in the final round. Became the first player to enter the week at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and win the event since he won the 2022 Masters Tournament. The next week won the Players Championship by a shot over Brian Harman, Xander Schauffler and Wyndham Clark. He was the first player to successfully defend a title at The Players Championship and became the eighth multiple winners of The Players Championship and the first since Tiger Woods won his second title in 2013. Earns his eighth career PGA Tour title in his 118th start at the age of 27 years, 8 months, 25 days. Fell one shot short at the Texas Children's Houston Open to winning a third straight time. His runner-up finish was his eight on the PGA Tour.