Scottie Scheffler

Early life and amateur career

Scheffler was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on June 21, 1996. His father, Scott, grew up in Englewood Cliffs, and his mother, Diane (née DeLorenzo), grew up in Park Ridge. Scheffler is of Italian descent on his mother's side and German descent on his father's side. His grandfather was a veteran of the U.S. military who served in the Korean War. Scheffler was the only boy among four children. His sisters are named Callie, Molly and Sara. The family lived in Montvale, New Jersey, until Scheffler was aged six, when they moved to Dallas, Texas, in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Scott was a carpenter who became a stay-at-home dad, while Diane worked as a business manager at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and later as a chief operating officer at the law firm Thompson & Knight in Dallas.

Scheffler's interest in golf began at age three, when his parents gave him a set of plastic clubs and ball. He practiced as a child by hitting ping-pong balls inside his home, curving the ball from one room to the next. While living in New Jersey, Scheffler frequently asked his father to take him to the 9W Driving Range in Palisades, New York, near the Hudson River. In winter, Scheffler's father shoveled snow from the range to allow him to still practice. After the move to Dallas, his parents borrowed $50,000 to join Royal Oaks Country Club, where Scheffler began to receive tutelage under instructor Randy Smith, who had coached Justin Leonard to a victory at the 1997 Open Championship. At Royal Oaks, Scheffler also learned from professional golfers such as Leonard, Ryan Palmer, Colt Knost, and Harrison Frazar. He watched them as they practiced, and from the age of nine would challenge them to chipping and putting contests. He had prolific success at the youth level, and won 90 of the 136 tournaments he played on the Northern Texas PGA junior circuit, competing against the likes of fellow Dallas-area golfer Will Zalatoris.

Entering high school, Scheffler was barely 5 feet (1.5 m) in height, but experienced a large growth spurt and soon measured over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. He played golf and basketball at Highland Park High School in the Dallas enclave of University Park. At Highland Park, Scheffler won individual state titles three years in a row (2012 to 2014), matching a record set by fellow Texan Jordan Spieth. He also had success in AJGA events, and won the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, defeating Davis Riley 3 and 2. Scheffler was the top-ranked junior golfer in the country in 2014, and in April 2014 he won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. He made his PGA Tour debut in May 2014, as a 17-year-old amateur at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. With his sister Callie caddying for him, he made the cut. He recorded a hole-in-one in the third round and ultimately finished at 4-under-par, in a tie for 22nd place. He was ineligible for the $60,000 payout due to his amateur status.

Professional career

2019: Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year

Scheffler turned professional after graduating from college in spring 2018. He began to play in Monday qualifiers but had little success. In December 2018, Scheffler earned his 2019 Web.com Tour card through qualifying school. He finished tied-34th, one shot inside the top 40 cutoff. He got up-and-down to make par on the final hole and secure his playing status. In 2022, Scheffler described this as the most important par save of his career. He said "there's more pressure going into the final round of Q-School than there is Masters Sunday because, if I fail at Q-School, I've got a whole other year where I don't have anywhere to play."

On May 5, 2019, Scheffler shot a final-round 64 to tie for first alongside Robby Shelton at the Nashville Golf Open. Shelton won the ensuing playoff. This was Scheffler's fourth consecutive top-10 finish on the Web.com Tour. Three weeks later, Scheffler fired a bogey-free, 9-under 63—playing the back nine in 30—to force a playoff with 54-hole leader Marcelo Rozo in the Evans Scholars Invitational. He then birdied the second extra hole for his first Web.com Tour victory.

On August 18, 2019, Scheffler won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio. Scheffler shot 4-under 67 in the final round at Ohio State University's Scarlet Course for a two-shot victory. He totaled a 12-under 272 for the week and finished two shots ahead of Brendon Todd, Beau Hossler and Ben Taylor. This event was part of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals (the Web.com Tour was renamed the Korn Ferry Tour in mid-season). Scheffler led both the Finals points list and the overall points list to earn a fully exempt PGA Tour card for the 2020 season. He was later named Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year.

2020: PGA Tour Rookie of the Year

In his first start of 2020, Scheffler was tied for the lead alongside Andrew Landry after three rounds at The American Express. A final-round 70 saw Scheffler finish third, three shots behind Landry.

During the suspension of the PGA Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Scheffler competed in the Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitational in April 2020, a tournament organized to raise money for caddies who were unable to work due to the COVID lockdowns. Scheffler shot rounds of 66-74-67 to win the 54-hole event, ahead of Will Zalatoris in second and Viktor Hovland in third, and donated $9,000 to the caddie fund.

In August 2020, Scheffler finished tied for fourth at the 2020 PGA Championship, his first top-10 finish at a major. Two weeks later, Scheffler shot a 12-under 59 at The Northern Trust. His round was the joint second-lowest in PGA Tour history and just the 12th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.

Scheffler was one of two rookies, alongside Hovland, to qualify for the Tour Championship in September 2020. Scheffler finished fifth, receiving a $2.5 million payout. He was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for the 2019–20 season.

2021: Ryder Cup debut

Scheffler recorded the first runner-up finish of his PGA Tour career in March at the 2021 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, held at Austin Country Club. He was defeated by Billy Horschel, 2 and 1, in the final.

At the 2021 Masters Tournament, Scheffler tied for 18th. He then posted top-10 finishes at each of the three other majors: tied-8th at the 2021 PGA Championship, tied-7th at the 2021 U.S. Open, and tied-8th at the 2021 Open Championship.

In September 2021, Scheffler was named as a captain's pick by Steve Stricker for the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Scheffler went 2–0–1 including a win in his Sunday singles match against world number one Jon Rahm.

Later that fall, he switched caddies, replacing Scott McGuinness with Bubba Watson's former caddie, Ted Scott.

2022: Rise to world number one, first major title, PGA Tour Player of the Year

On February 13, 2022, Scheffler won his first ever PGA Tour title at the WM Phoenix Open on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff against Patrick Cantlay. Three weeks later, Scheffler won his second career PGA Tour title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida. He won by one stroke over Viktor Hovland, Billy Horschel and Tyrrell Hatton. Three weeks after that, Scheffler won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, defeating Kevin Kisner in the final match. With this win, Scheffler moved to world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.

On April 10, 2022, Scheffler won the Masters Tournament, defeating Rory McIlroy by three strokes. Scheffler became the fifth golfer to enter the Masters Tournament ranked No. 1 in the world and go on to win the Masters, joining Ian Woosnam (1991), Fred Couples (1992), Tiger Woods (2001, 2002) and Dustin Johnson (2020). The victory was his fourth for the 2022 PGA Tour season, making him the first golfer since Arnold Palmer in 1960, and only the second ever, to win as many events including the Masters in that span of time to begin a season. The Masters was his fourth win in 6 starts.

At the 2022 PGA Championship, he missed the cut by two shots. On May 29, 2022, Scheffler lost the Charles Schwab Challenge in a playoff to Sam Burns after Burns made a 38-foot birdie putt. At the U.S. Open, he finished T-2, one stroke behind the winner Matt Fitzpatrick.

Entering the 2022 Tour Championship as the leader in the FedEx Cup standings, Scheffler started the tournament in first place with a 2-stroke lead in the starting strokes format. He extended his lead to 6 strokes after 54 holes, but shot a 3-over-par 73 in the final round to lose the tournament by one stroke to Rory McIlroy. This tied Scheffler for the PGA Tour record of largest 54-hole lead blown.

In September 2022, Scheffler was named 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year, earning the Jack Nicklaus Award for the first time.

Scheffler qualified for the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup; he lost three of the four matches he played, tying the other.

2023: Continued success, first Players Championship victory

In February 2023, Scheffler successfully defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open. He shot a final round 6-under 65 to beat Nick Taylor by two strokes. With the win, Scheffler returned to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.

In March, Scheffler won The Players Championship by five strokes and regained the number one ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in the year. It was the largest margin of victory in The Players Championship since Stephen Ames won by six in 2006. Scheffler joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the Masters Tournament and The Players Championship in a 12-month span.

As the defending champion at the 2023 Masters Tournament in April, Scheffler finished tied-10th. At the 2023 PGA Championship in May, he posted a final-round 65 to tie for 2nd, two strokes behind Brooks Koepka. This result returned Scheffler to the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler followed this with a 3rd-place finish at the 2023 U.S. Open in June.

In the 2022–23 season, Scheffler recorded 18 consecutive top-12 finishes, a streak only bettered by Tiger Woods in 2000–01. For the second year in a row, he entered the Tour Championship as the leader in the FedEx Cup standings, which gave him a starting score of 10-under-par, and a two stroke lead over Viktor Hovland. He finished in a tie for sixth place at 11-under-par, 16 strokes behind the winner, Hovland.

In September, Scheffler played on the U.S. team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Scheffler went 0–2–2, including a tie in his Sunday singles match against Jon Rahm. In the Saturday morning foursome match, the European pair Ludvig Åberg and Viktor Hovland defeated Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9 and 7, the biggest victory in an 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history.

In December, Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event on the PGA Tour with a 20-man field. He had finished as runner-up in both of the previous two years at the tournament.

2024: Nine-win season, Olympic gold medal and first FedEx Cup title

In March, Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the second time in his career. Scheffler ended the week 15-under par, the lowest score at Bay Hill since Rory Mcilroy in 2018. The following week, Scheffler won The Players Championship to become the first back-to-back winner in the event's history. He shot an 8-under 64 in the final round to overcome a five-shot deficit, matching the largest comeback by a Players Championship winner at TPC Sawgrass. In his next start, at the Houston Open, Scheffler was in the final group on Sunday and had a birdie putt from six feet on the 18th green to force a playoff. He missed the putt and finished in second place, one stroke behind Stephan Jäger.

In April, Scheffler won the Masters Tournament for a second time in three years. He finished at 11-under par, winning by four shots over Ludvig Åberg. Scheffler, aged 27, became the fourth-youngest player to have two Masters victories. He additionally joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to have multiple victories at both the Players Championship and the Masters. One week later, he followed up his Masters victory with a win at the RBC Heritage for his fourth win in five starts.

At the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Scheffler opened with a round of 67. On Friday morning prior to his second round, Scheffler was arrested after a traffic incident but was released in time to return to the course and shoot 66. However, in the third round, Scheffler broke his streak of 42 consecutive rounds of par-or-better on the PGA Tour with a two-over 73. He eventually finished the tournament tied 8th. In his next start, Scheffler was in the final group on Sunday at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He ultimately finished runner-up, five strokes behind Davis Riley.

In June, Scheffler won the Memorial Tournament for his fifth win on the season. The win pushed him over $24 million in earnings for the year, breaking the PGA Tour season earnings record. Scheffler also become the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 to have won five times on the PGA Tour before the U.S. Open. Two weeks later, Scheffler defeated Tom Kim in a sudden-death playoff at the Travelers Championship to claim his sixth win on the season. This made him the first PGA Tour golfer to win six times in a season since Tiger Woods in 2009, and the first to have won six times before July since Arnold Palmer in 1962.

2025: Winning two major titles

Scheffler missed the first few weeks of the 2025 season due to injuring his right hand while making Christmas dinner. He underwent surgery to remove shards of glass from his palm and was unable to practice golf during the recovery. As the two-time defending champion at the 2025 Players Championship in March, he finished in a tie for 20th. Two weeks later, Scheffler finished runner-up at the Texas Children's Houston Open, one stroke behind Min Woo Lee. In his title defense at the 2025 Masters Tournament in April, Scheffler placed solo-fourth.

In May, Scheffler recorded his first victory of the season at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, winning by eight strokes over Erik van Rooyen. Scheffler's total of 31-under-par 253 tied the 72-hole PGA Tour scoring record. Two weeks later, at the 2025 PGA Championship held at Quail Hollow Club, Scheffler shot 11-under 273 to claim his third major championship title. He won by five strokes over runners-up Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, and Davis Riley. This was the largest margin of victory at the PGA Championship since Rory McIlroy won by eight at the 2012 PGA Championship. The win also made him the first golfer since Seve Ballesteros to win his first three majors by three shots or more, and he joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers since 1950 to win at least 15 PGA Tour tournaments before the age of 29.

Scheffler successfully defended his title at the Memorial Tournament in June, scoring 10-under to beat Ben Griffin by four strokes. It was Scheffler's third win in the span of four starts. With the victory, Scheffler joined Tiger Woods as the only repeat winners of the Memorial. Two weeks later, Scheffler finished tied-7th at the 2025 U.S. Open at 4-over 284, five strokes behind the winner J. J. Spaun. This was Scheffler's fourth top-10 finish in his previous five U.S. Open appearances.

In July, Scheffler won the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush for his fourth major championship victory. He shot 17-under 267 to win by four over Harris English and claim the third leg of the career grand slam. With the victory, Scheffler became the first golfer since John Henry Taylor in 1909 to win his first four majors by three strokes or more. He also became the third golfer to win multiple majors by four or more strokes in a single year, joining Ben Hogan (1953 Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship) and Tiger Woods (2000 U.S. Open and Open Championship). Since the start of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986, Scheffler joined Tiger Woods as the only two players to win the Open Championship while ranked world number one.

2026: Becoming the all-time PGA Tour money leader

In January, Scheffler won The American Express by four shots. It was Scheffler's 20th PGA Tour victory, which earned him lifetime membership on the tour. He also joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to have 20 PGA Tour titles and four majors before turning 30. With the win, Scheffler received $1,656,000 in prize money, which pushed him over $100 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour. He was the third man to reach this mark, after Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. In February, Scheffler finished tied-12th at the Genesis Invitational, which ended his streak of 18 consecutive top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. This was the longest such streak since Billy Casper recorded 17 in 1964–65.

At the 2026 Masters Tournament in April, Scheffler was at even par after 36 holes and trailed the leader Rory McIlroy by 12 strokes. He shot bogey-free rounds of 65-68 on the weekend to finish solo-second at 11-under, one stroke behind McIlroy. In doing so, Scheffler became the first player to avoid making a bogey in the final two rounds at the Masters since hole-by-hole data began to be recorded in 1942. The following week, Scheffler tied for first at the RBC Heritage. He lost in the ensuing playoff to Matt Fitzpatrick. Scheffler recorded his third consecutive runner-up finish at the Cadillac Championship in May, six strokes behind Cameron Young.

In his first attempt to complete the career grand slam, Scheffler was in the final pairing on Sunday alongside Wyndham Clark at the 2026 U.S. Open, held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in June. Starting the round in a tie for second, Scheffler shot a 1-over 71 to finish tied-fourth, four strokes behind the winner Clark. The next week, Scheffler shot 21-under 259 at the Travelers Championship to enter a playoff alongside Viktor Hovland. After Hovland made birdie on the first extra hole, Scheffler missed a 4-foot (1.2 m) putt to extend the playoff. This was Scheffler's fourth runner-up finish of the year.

Scheffler missed the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open in July, marking the first time he had failed to play the weekend since the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. This ended his run of 78 consecutive made cuts, which was the longest streak since Tiger Woods' record of 142 from 1998–2005. As defending champion at the 2026 Open Championship, Scheffler shot a final-round 67 to finish in a tie for fourth.

Technique and coaches

Scheffler is regarded as the most dominant ballstriker in professional golf since Tiger Woods. During the 2022–23 PGA Tour season, Scheffler averaged 2.614 strokes gained tee-to-green per round. This was the second-best performance since strokes gained data began to be recorded in 2003, behind only Woods' 2.982 in the 2006 season. Woods praised Scheffler's ballstriking in 2024, stating that if Scheffler "putts decent, he wins; if he putts great, he blows away fields; if he has a bad putting week, he still contends."

Since the age of seven, Scheffler has been coached by PGA of America instructor Randy Smith at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas. Smith is the only swing coach Scheffler has had in his career as of 2024. Scheffler's unconventional footwork has drawn widespread attention in golf media, and has been dubbed the "Scheffler shuffle" and "Scottie shuffle". It involves a pronounced sliding motion in his back foot and a rolling of the lead ankle through impact, which Rick Maese of The Washington Post stated "looks like a bowler sliding near the foul line or a dancer finishing a twirl." As he transitions through the shot, Scheffler’s back foot slides backward and often lifts entirely off the ground, a technique no golf coach would traditionally teach to a student. Scheffler's footwork is a product of using ground reaction forces to create speed in his swing. His foot slide is uncommon, but not exclusive to him; Golf Channel analyst and former PGA Tour golfer Brandel Chamblee compared Scheffler's footwork to Greg Norman's. As a junior golfer, Scheffler initiated his foot slide during his downswing before hitting the ball, creating inconsistent results. Performance coach Troy Van Biezen, who has worked with Scheffler since age 14, said in 2024: "Now, when he’s playing well, his foot slides after the ball is struck, post-impact." Van Biezen credited Smith for not attempting to eliminate Scheffler's foot slide, and stated: "I wholeheartedly believe that if any other golf coach got a hold of Scottie, they would have tried to change his swing and probably would have ruined him."

Although he is not one of the longest drivers on tour, Scheffler ranks among the leaders in strokes gained off the tee by combining above-average distance and accuracy. His "Power Percentage", a statistic which measures how fast a player swings relative to their maximum speed, is only 93%, among the lowest on tour. Luke Kerr-Dineen of Golf Digest cited this as an example of Scheffler tending to swing conservatively when hitting driver, and described him as "a classic has-more-in-the-tank guy". In 2024, when missing the fairway, Scheffler ranked first on the PGA Tour in distance from the edge of the fairway, at just 18 feet (5.5 m), meaning that he generally avoided wide misses and kept the ball in play.

Personal life

Scheffler met his wife, Meredith (née Scudder), in high school. They married in 2020 at Arlington Hall in Dallas. Their first child, a son, was born in 2024. They had another son in 2026. Scheffler and his family reside in Dallas. In 2025, he described being a professional golfer as "not a fulfilling life" and stated that he would stop competing if golf began to affect his family life. He added: "I would say my greatest priorities are my faith and my family. Those come first for me. Golf is third in that order." Scheffler was named in Time 100's 2026 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. He said in response: "If I can be a positive influence on someone's life, that's a great thing. But at the end of the day, I don't know if I'm the best role model."

Scheffler is involved with the Triumph Over Kid Cancer Foundation. A 501(c)(3) organization, it was originally founded as a fundraiser for Scheffler's childhood friend James Ragan, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2006 and died in 2014. Scheffler donated $50,000 to the foundation in 2019, and partnered with Ragan's sister Mecklin to create a golf program for pediatric cancer patients. At a fundraiser for the charity in 2024, Scheffler auctioned off the 2012 GMC Yukon which he had driven since turning professional in 2018. The auction was won by Jim Nantz, with a bid of $50,000. Scheffler and his wife Meredith are also supporters of Behind Every Door, a Christian non-profit organization that provides support to low-income areas in Dallas. Meredith is a director at Behind Every Door.

Scheffler was raised Catholic. His sponsor for his confirmation in the Catholic Church was Rocky Hambric, founder of Hambric Sports, a sports management agency. Scheffler's mother stated that "Scottie really thinks of Rocky as his godfather", and he has been a client of Hambric Sports since he turned professional. Scheffler's agent at Hambric is Blake Smith, son of Scheffler's swing coach Randy Smith. As of 2022, Scheffler is a member of Park Cities Presbyterian Church. He attends Bible study with his caddie Ted Scott, who caddied for Bubba Watson for 15 years. When requesting Scott to be his caddie, Scheffler said "I really want to work with a Christian. That's how I try to live my life." Scheffler and his close friend Sam Burns co-host an annual retreat with members of the College Golf Fellowship, a faith-based ministry.

Scheffler appeared in the sports documentary series Full Swing, which premiered on Netflix in February 2023. He made a cameo appearance in the 2025 film Happy Gilmore 2, a sequel to Happy Gilmore (1996).

Amateur wins

2011 Legends Junior Match Play Championship

2013 U.S. Junior Amateur

2014 Junior Invitational

2015 Annual Western Intercollegiate, Big 12 Championship

2016 East Lake Cup

Source:

Professional wins (27)

PGA Tour wins (22)

1Started tournament at −10 FedEx Cup playoffs adjustment, scored −20 to par.

PGA Tour playoff record (2–3)

Korn Ferry Tour wins (2)

Korn Ferry Tour playoff record (1–1)

Major championships

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

LA = low amateur

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" = tied

NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Most consecutive cuts made – 18 (2022 U.S. Open − 2026 Open Championship, current)

Longest streak of top-10s – 6 (2024 Open Championship – 2026 Masters)

The Players Championship

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

World Golf Championships

Results timeline

1Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

NT = No tournament

"T" = tied

Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.

PGA Tour career summary

* As of August 30, 2026.

** Scheffler was not a PGA Tour member until 2020, so he was not listed on the money list while playing as a non-member.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Junior Ryder Cup: 2012 (winners)

Spirit International: 2013 (winners)

Eisenhower Trophy: 2016

Walker Cup: 2017 (winners)

Professional

Ryder Cup: 2021 (winners), 2023, 2025

Presidents Cup: 2022 (winners), 2024 (winners), 2026

Filmography