Scottie Scheffler Walks Like a Winner, and May Stroll Into Another Green Jacket
AUGUSTA, Ga. — At the Masters you can tell the players with a deep history here by the way they walk and carry themselves. Rory McIlroy’s posture is upright, chest out and chin up: assured, focused, measured and ready to finally win his first green jacket. Once a man whose feet seemed to levitate above the ground when he walked these hallowed fairways at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tiger Woods has now the labored gait of a retired Hall of Fame running back.
Phil Mickelson marches to his own beat: a self-determined iconoclast in the game after years of being a beloved insider as a three-time winner. Jordan Spieth exudes the confidence of a young man with nothing to prove, except that he can win here again if he can summon the magic of his short game. Everybody’s cool uncle, Fred Couples, has the casual demeanor of a retiree enjoying life to the fullest.
As the defending Masters champion, Scottie Scheffler moves with the calm urgency of a golfer carried by the momentum of the last 12 months, where he has emerged as the No. 1-ranked player in the world (No. 1 SIWGR). Ambling through the Augusta National practice areas with his caddie, Teddy Scott, and swing coach, Randy Smith, he smiles and acknowledges his fellow players who have come to admire his consistent excellence. Since winning the 2022 Masters with a three-shot win over McIlroy, the 26-year-old Texan has had added three more victories, including the Players Championship in March and 11 top 10s.
This week Scheffler is trying to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to win back-to-back green jackets. “Any time you can get mentioned in the same breath as a Tiger and a Jack and Nick Faldo is really special,” he said on Tuesday. “But it’s not a motivating factor for me to come out here and play. I’m just hoping to have a good attitude and just come out here and do the best that I can do, and wherever that ends up in my career, I’ll be happy with.”
Scheffler, who is a 7 to 1 favorite to win his second green jacket, isn’t concerned about his legacy or the accoutrements of his newfound success like a fancy car or a mansion with 10 bedrooms or even sitting on top of the world ranking. He drives a hand-me-down 2012 Yukon with 190,000 miles and lives in a modest house in Dallas. The best show of his prowess as a player is found in his stellar ball striking, the people around him and his resolve to not let the fame and glory change him.
Before bringing on Scott as his caddie in late 2021, Scheffler had shown considerable promise but he had gone winless in two seasons before the duo won together at last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. In the ’22 Masters, Scott, who helped Bubba Watson to two green jackets, was key to Scheffler’s win in only his third appearance at Augusta.
“I’m sure he leans on Ted a lot and Ted understands how to play the golf course,” Woods said. “I think the teamwork of player and caddie is so important here because there’s so many variables that go on: the lies, the wind, the gust and knowledge of the golf course.”
On Monday afternoon, Scott was too busy for conversation with other caddies and reporters because he was in a rush to get on the course for more tournament preparation. With Watson, Scott had a golf savant. With Scheffler, he has a boss who wants the freedom of the savant with the preparation of the scientist. “When it comes to Teddy doing all the work at the beginning of the week, I know on Thursday we’re both doing everything we can to play well,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler leads the PGA Tour in ball-striking. Last month when he won the Players Championship, he put on a ball-striking display by leading the field in strokes-gained tee-to-green, fourth in strokes-gained approach to the green and fifth in driving distance. Always armed with ample length, he’s managed to add length off the tee.
“I think the [distance increase] is more a byproduct of the stuff that I’ve been doing in the gym,” he says. “In the last two years I’ve taken much more of a priority in my physical health.”
Scheffler will have plenty of pursuers this week. Lately, he’s been in a tug of war with Jon Rahm and McIlroy for the top of the world golf ranking. For Rahm and McIlroy to win their first green jackets, they will have to beat Scheffler.
On Tuesday afternoon, Scheffler was looking ahead to the annual Champions Dinner. As the reigning champion he was to serve a menu of cheeseburger sliders, firecracker shrimp, tortilla soup, ribeye steak or blackened redfish and warm chocolate chip skillet cookies. Most of the assembled group of champions already know his story and how he won his green jacket. What they will likely remember most is how he handles this moment. He’s already done the hardest part, which is making it into the company of these men.
“I will definitely get emotional,” he said. “I still can’t believe I’ll be sitting in that room, and so it will be fun.”