The No. 1 golfer in the world says his faith -- not his sport -- is what defines him as a person.
Scottie Scheffler is ranked No. 1 in the world in the official rankings, having won twice and finished in the Top 10 seven times this year. For his career, he has eight wins and 50 Top 10 finishes, including a breakout victory at the 2022 Masters.
But the 27-year-old University of Texas product says golf doesn’t consume him, although he acknowledged it can be a “selfish” sport.
“You're out there by yourself. And when you're at the peak of your game, you know, people need stuff from you a lot of the time. And you have to be selfish with your time. And it's not easy to say no, but you have to learn how to say no to certain people,” he said. “Because ultimately, we come on to a golf tournament, you're here to compete, and you're here to do your best. And you can't really get caught up in all the stuff that's going on around you. And so I'm hoping it doesn't define me too much.
“Golf is something that I do,” he said. “It's a tremendously huge part of my life. But it doesn't define me as a person. It's just something that I do, and I happen to be good at it some weeks. And you know, I come in here and you guys ask all nice questions, and then the next week, I'm bad at it. And then some of the questions are viewed more negatively. And that's just kind of the ebb and flow of competing in front of people all the time.”
Scheffler then was asked: “What do you think defines you?”
“I believe in Jesus. Ultimately I think that’s what defines me most.”
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The number one golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, shares what defines him. pic.twitter.com/LoFnoySJY5
“I am a faithful guy. I believe in a Creator. I believe in Jesus,” Scheffler said. “Ultimately, I think that's what defines me the most. Yeah, I feel like I've been given a platform to compete and show my talent. … I think that's what defines me the most is my faith. I believe in one Creator, and I've been called to come out here [and] do my best to compete and glorify God. That's pretty much it.”
Scheffler joined the tour in 2020 and has won $54 million in prize money.
Meanwhile, Scheffler is competing in this year’s Masters while his pregnant wife, Meredith, is back home and unable to travel due to orders from her doctor, according to the Augusta Chronicle. Asked what he would do if his wife went into labor early, Scheffler told media members he would withdraw: “I'll be out of here.”
“I think [my] first child wins over… many things in my life,” he said.
Image credit: ©Getty Images / Andrew Redington / Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.