Scottie Scheffler

Scott Alexander Scheffler, an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour, has held the world number one ranking for more than 175 weeks and owns four major championship titles. Born June 21, 1996, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, he is the only son among four children—sisters Callie, Molly, and Sara—and is of Italian and German descent. His family moved from Montvale, New Jersey, to Dallas, Texas, when he was six, following the September 11 attacks. His father, a carpenter, became a stay-at-home parent, while his mother worked as a business manager and later a chief operating officer at law firms.

Scheffler’s golf interest began at age three with plastic clubs. He practiced by hitting ping-pong balls indoors and frequently asked his father to take him to a driving range in Palisades, New York. After moving to Dallas, his parents borrowed $50,000 to join Royal Oaks Country Club, where instructor Randy Smith—who coached Justin Leonard to a 1997 Open Championship win—tutored him. He learned from pros like Leonard, Ryan Palmer, Colt Knost, and Harrison Frazar, and from age nine challenged them to chipping and putting contests. On the Northern Texas PGA junior circuit, he won 90 of 136 tournaments, often against fellow Dallas-area golfer Will Zalatoris.

Entering high school at barely five feet tall, Scheffler soon grew over six feet. At Highland Park High School in University Park, Texas, he played golf and basketball, winning individual state titles three straight years (2012–2014), matching Jordan Spieth’s record. He won the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, beating Davis Riley 3 and 2, and was the top-ranked junior golfer in 2014, also winning the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. In May 2014, at age 17, he made his PGA Tour debut as an amateur at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, with sister Callie caddying. He made the cut, recorded a third-round hole-in-one, and finished tied for 22nd at 4-under-par, ineligible for the $60,000 prize due to amateur status.

Recruited by the University of Texas at Austin in fall 2014, Scheffler won his first collegiate title—the Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club—in April 2015, followed by the Big 12 Individual Championship at Southern Hills. He was named 2015 Phil Mickelson Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. His sophomore season was hampered by back injuries, with only one top-10 finish; coach John Fields noted Scheffler was still adjusting to a growth spurt from 5-foot-2, 100 pounds in eighth grade to nearly 6-foot-4, 200 pounds six years later.

In June 2016, he qualified for his first U.S. Open, opening with a 69 to hold the overnight clubhouse lead, but shot a 78 in the second round to miss the cut by one. He represented the U.S. at the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy and won the East Lake Cup in October. At the 2017 U.S. Open, he and Cameron Champ were the only amateurs to make the cut; Scheffler finished as low amateur at 1-under-par. He also played on the winning 2017 Walker Cup team, defeating Connor Syme in singles.

He joined the Texas Cowboys in spring 2017 and graduated from the McCombs School of Business in 2018 with a finance degree.

Turning professional in 2018, Scheffler was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2020. He reached world number one in March 2022 and won his first major at the 2022 Masters the following month. He captured The Players Championship in 2023 and 2024, becoming the first to win back-to-back titles. His second major came at the 2024 Masters, and he won the gold medal in the men’s individual tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He added his third major at the 2025 PGA Championship and his fourth at the 2025 Open Championship. Scheffler has been named PGA Tour Player of the Year for four consecutive seasons and led the tour’s money list for four straight years; he ranks first on the all-time money list with career earnings over $130 million. In 2026, he was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world.