Wed, Apr 13, 2022 page16

• Scheffler’s winning journey a true family affair

  • AP, AUGUSTA, Georgia
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  It does not seem that long ago to Scott Scheffler that he was standing on the green behind Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey, dutifully holding a flashlight while his only son — just five or six at the time — hit shots in the dark.

  If one of Scottie Scheffler’s wayward strokes happened to smack into one of his sisters, so be it.

  “He used to yell,” Scott Scheffler said. “He would yell at us when he hit it. He would hit the girls.” It is what brothers do.

  

  Scottie Scheffler poses with the Masters trophy after winning the event at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, on Sunday.

  Photo: AFP

  Nearly two decades later, Scottie Scheffler’s aim is considerably better. Yes, that was the kid who used to peg his siblings with impunity tugging the green jacket over his broad shoulders after winning the Masters on Sunday afternoon.

  The Schefflers moved to Dallas when Scottie Scheffler’s mom, Diane Scheffler, switched law firms as a chief operating officer. They quickly decided to join Royal Oaks Country Club, mostly because it meant Scott Scheffler could keep all four kids in one place.

  While Scott Scheffler understands his son’s origin story takes a familiar narrative and turns it on his head — it was Scott who served as the stay-at-home dad while Diane worked — he does not see it as revolutionary or strange or uncommon.

  “It’s just what you do as a father for your children,” Scott Scheffler said, his eyes wet with tears while wearing a white Masters polo shirt on the grounds of a club where his son is now a champion. “You do for your kids you know. I’ve done for all of them. They’ve given us great joy. He’s the one that did all the hard work, not me. I just raised him and tried the best I could to be a good dad.”

  Maybe, but someone had to get Team Scheffler to all those sporting events. Youth golf tournaments. High school basketball practices. The list is seemingly endless. The fact it was dad doing most of the driving hardly mattered.

  “Wasn’t unusual for me,” Scottie Scheffler said. “I didn’t know any different. Fortunately for me, I grew up with three sisters and my dad was there, and he did a great job raising us.”

  Scott Scheffler made it a point to make sure his kids were well-rounded. While stressing “I’m no guru,” he pointed out how vital it was to make sure Scottie Scheffler did not focus on golf all the time.

  He tried as a sophomore at Highland Park High School only to realize he missed playing basketball too much. So it was back to the basketball team the following year.

  While Scott Scheffler laughingly admitted, “Schefflers have their issues, but they’re good people,” he grew more serious when asked what the world needs to know about the unassuming 25-year-old board game aficionado who is now the hottest golfer on the planet.

  “He’s just a nice young kid,” Scott Scheffler said. “Born in New Jersey and raised in Texas. He’s got a little bit of both, which is wonderful. Just our son and Meredith’s husband and now I guess he’s the world’s.”
• Most Popular

  • 1

    China preparing to invade Taiwan: deputy foreign minister

  • 2

    Jakarta puppet ban threatens city’s buskers

  • 3

    FDA approves shrimp imports from ally Belize

  • 4

    MRT extension linking New Taipei and Taoyuan set to start in 2026

  • 5

    Taiwan expects final US tariff rate soon: official