It always seemed likely that Scottie Scheffler was going to win Majors, given his success at the junior level. He won the US Junior Amateur in 2013 and four years later was given low-amateur honours in that year’s US Open, the year before he turned professional. In 2020 he was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year; well-fancied to go on and win the biggest honours in the game.
With three months in 2022 he had won his first tournament on the PGA Tour, become world number on in the official rankings and then won the first Major of his career. He backed this up by winning the Players Championship in 2023 and 2024, making him the first player to win it in back-to-back years. It was just part of why 2024 was such a good year for him, also winning his second Major and the Gold medal at the Summer Olympics.
Born in Ridgewood, New Jersey on the 21st of June 1996, Scott Alexander Scheffler was the only boy of four children and became known as Scottie on account of the fact that his dad was also called Scott. His parents gave him a plastic set of clubs and a ball when he was three-years-old, sparking his interest in the sport that he would go on to dominate as an adult.
In the wake of the September 11th attack, Scheffler’s family moved to Texas and borrowed $50,000 so he could join Royal Oaks Country Club and be tutored by Randy Smith; an investment that would’ve proved good value at twice the price.
Scottie Scheffler’s Major Wins
| Years | Masters | US PGA | U.S. Open | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| 2024 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Masters Tournament Wins: 2
The thing about the Majors is that there are some competitions that golfers just seen to love. For Scottie Scheffler, that competition is the Masters Tournament, which he entered for the first time in 2020 and had won it within two years. His first crack at the Augusta National course saw him finished tied-19th, improving to tied-18th a year later before emerging with the green jacket in 2022. He won it again two years later, finishing tied-10th in the intervening year. Quite what it is about the Augusta course that suits Scheffler’s game so much isn’t clear, but he joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in having multiple wins in the Masters and the Players Championship.
2022: McIlroy Held Off for Maiden Major Win
Scottie Scheffler won his first Major at Augusta National, with a maximum capacity in attendance for the first time since 2019. With $2.7 million in prize money on offer to the winner, Scheffler shot a -3 score of 69 in the first round, leaving him two off the top thanks to just one bogey, which didn’t come until the 18th. His 67 on day two meant that he led by a record-tying five strokes heading into day three, which was reduced to three strokes thanks to a 71 from him and good play from Cameron Smith. Another 71 on the final day was enough to hand him his first green jacket and first Major success, coming in his first tournament as world number one, in spite of a late charge from Rory McIlroy.
2024: $3.6m Paycheque After Four-Shot Victory
It was back to Augusta National for Scheffler’s next Major success. Having already won the Players Championship, he was looking to become just the second player after Tiger Woods to win it and the Masters in the same calendar year. An opening round of 66 put him one behind Bryson DeChambeau in the lead, then he moved level with him after a 72 on day two. The third round started well when he chipped in for a birdie at the first, seemed to go downhill after a double-bogey on the tenth but then he scored the only eagle of the round on the 15th to rescue it. A 71 put him in the lead on his own, then a final round 68 secured the green jacket by four shots.
PGA Championship Wins: None
The first time that Scottie Scheffler entered the PGA Championship was in 2020, proving to the golfing world just how good he was when he finished tied-4th. A year later and he got another top ten finish, this time ending up tied-8th. After missing the cut in 2022, Scheffler came close to winning the competition in 2023 when it took place on the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club in New York. He carded a three under 67 on day one to put himself one off the lead, then managed a 68 on day two to be tied for the lead. A 73 on the Saturday saw him tumble down to tied-5th, but a final round of 65 saw him end up tied with Viktor Hovland and just two shots off Brooks Koepka, the winner.
US Open Wins: None
The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts was the venue for the 2022 US Open, which was actually Scottie Scheffler’s fifth crack at the competition. He has missed the cut in 2016 before finishing as the Low Amateur in tied-27th a year later. After missing out in 2018 he then missed the cut again in 2019, but finished tied-7th in 2021. An opening round 70 was followed by a 67 at Brookline in 2022, then a third round score of 71 moved him to tied-4th, two shots off the leaders. His final round score of 67 moved him to within just one of Matt Fitzpatrick, but it wasn’t enough to take the US Open win from the Englishman.
Open Championship Wins: None
Not all golfers like the challenge presented by links golf, but Scottie Scheffler’s first attempt at it saw him end up tied-8th in 2021. Neither 2022 at St. Andrews nor 2023 at Royal Liverpool on the Wirral went all that well for him, finishing tied-21st and tied-23rd respectively. It was another top ten finish for him the year after, however, with the defending Masters champion turning up to Royal Troon and posting two 70s and a 71 in his first three rounds. A final round of 72 meant that he ended up on -1, scoring 283 overall, which was enough for a tied-7th finish. That was eight shots off the winner Xander Schauffle though, so not all that close to the top.