The current world No. 1 recently won his second career Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, where his victory seemed almost inevitable from the opening tee shot.

Scheffler has already guaranteed himself a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and will likely make his Olympic Games debut at Le Golf National’s Albatros Course in France.

Scottie Scheffler is a man well-accustomed to making global headlines, but almost never for events beyond the confines of the golf course.

The extraordinary scenes that saw the world No.1 arrested outside Kentucky’s Valhalla Golf Club were rendered even more remarkable given his background.

This is a golfer, a new father, who has been dominating his sport in unassuming fashion.

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A devout Christian, he once said he played the sport because he was “trying to glorify God.” The 27-year-old is the favorite to win the PGA Championship this weekend and arguably not since Tiger Woods in his prime has a player been so superior on the course.

‘My identity isn’t a golf score’

Born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, but a Dallas native since the age of 6, Scheffler burst onto the golf scene by winning a flurry of junior titles. In 2014, at 17, as an amateur he made a hole-in-one and the cut on his first PGA Tour start.

After turning professional four years later, Scheffler was crowned the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 2020 and made a triumphant Ryder Cup debut the following season.

Without a PGA Tour victory heading into 2022, by April of that year he was a four-time victor, the world No. 1 and – thanks to a dominant display at The Masters – a major champion.

Scheffler coasted to victory at Augusta National that year, a marked contrast to his stress before the final round. “Overwhelmed,” the University of Texas alumni had “cried like a baby” that morning, he later admitted.

It was a conversation with wife, Meredith, that helped steady the golfer, he said. The high-school sweethearts had married in 2020, and Scheffler paid tribute to her and his Christian faith after easing into his first green jacket.

“The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God and all that He’s done in my life. So for me, my identity isn’t a golf score,” Scheffler, who met his current caddie Ted Scott in Bible study, told reporters.

“All I’m trying to do is glorify God and that’s why I’m here … it’s not about a golf score.”

Extract of article courtesy of CNN, 17 May 2024