04/08/26 12:56:00
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04/08 12:54 CDT Golf has been secondary for Scottie Scheffler of late. It's
hard to know what to expect at Masters
Golf has been secondary for Scottie Scheffler of late. It's hard to know what
to expect at Masters
By NOAH TRISTER
AP Sports Writer
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) --- Scottie Scheffler's son Bennett turns 2 next month, and
Remy was born less than two weeks ago. Neither is old enough to understand the
significance of Augusta National, the Masters and the green jacket their father
sometimes wears.
"(His wife Meredith) got this great picture of me and Bennett walking into the
clubhouse with me with my green jacket and holding his hand. But, I mean, he
has no idea what it means," Scheffler said. "This place signifies so much for
me in my golf journey, and that's something I'd love to be able to share with
my kids. We'll see how that goes as they age.
"Right now I just --- if I'm wearing it near him, I'm just hoping he doesn't
ruin it or anything like that."
Scheffler has two kids --- one for each of his Masters titles. He's the
favorite in this week's tournament, as he tends to be for all majors these
days, but his family life has been more exciting than his golf recently. The
Scheffler who tore through the 2025 season, winning six times in a 4 1/2-month
span, hasn't arrived yet this year.
It was business as usual when Scheffler won his first tournament of the year at
The American Express in January. He followed that up by closing strong for
top-five finishes at Phoenix and Pebble Beach, but since then he's been outside
the top 10 in three straight events --- and outside the top 20 in the last two
of those.
A slump by his standards? Well, it's hard to call it that because Scheffler
hasn't played at all since The Players Championship in the middle of last
month. He withdrew from the Houston Open because his wife was expecting their
second child, and little Remy was born March 27.
The word "rested" isn't often used by parents of newborns, but being away from
the course may leave Scheffler refreshed.
"I'm getting plenty of sleep. My wife's a trouper," Scheffler said. "Remy is so
young right now, they sleep a lot of the day. I think he's used to being in the
womb at this point. Yeah, I've been able to get a decent amount of sleep."
It was hard to tell which of the kids was more of a hit at Wednesday's
family-friendly Par 3 Contest --- Remy being carried by Meredith in a baby wrap
or Bennett knocking the ball around with a blue toy club.
Bennett was born just before the PGA Championship in 2024. That major proved to
be a wild experience for Scheffler at Valhalla. He was arrested before the
second round for not following police instruction --- a felony charge and three
misdemeanors were later dropped --- but made it back from jail in time to shoot
66 that day on his way to finishing tied for eighth.
His obstacles this week are likely to be on the course. Scheffler will try to
become the first player since Adam Scott in 2013 to win at Augusta National
after having three weeks off.
If there's been a problem for Scheffler this year, it's been his starts. In his
past five tournaments, he's played the first round in a combined 3 over par
while shooting 56 under the rest of the way.
Of course, all that might feel like ancient history to Scheffler after he's
been otherwise occupied in recent weeks. A major like the Masters doesn't offer
much of a chance to ease back into competition mode, but it does have its
advantages.
"Augusta keeps going above and beyond to make things special and easy for us as
players. Especially the practice rounds," Scheffler said. "The practice rounds
are very peaceful. There's no phones. There's no people asking for selfies in
the middle of the round. It's very calm out there, and people follow the rules
here."
Scheffler will play with Robert MacIntyre and Gary Woodland in the first two
rounds. He was a 6-1 favorite per BetMGM Sportsbook on Wednesday morning.
That's similar to his +550 odds before the previous major --- the British Open
in July, which he won --- but not as short at the +275 price on him leading up
to last year's U.S. Open.
"Game feels like it's in a good spot," Scheffler said. "I got some rest the
last few weeks at home. So I feel rested and ready to go this week."
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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