Scottie Scheffler’s unselfish gesture steals post-Masters win celebration

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler had just won the Masters, and the coronation was underway. He hugged his parents and other family members as he walked off the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday night, fresh off a four-stroke victory and second green jacket.

One person he didn’t embrace, however, was his wife, Meredith. The Schefflers are expecting their first child at the end of April, so she stayed back at their home in Dallas, Texas. Scheffler talked all week about how if the baby were to come early, he had an escape plan to get there in time for the birth — no matter where he stood on the leaderboard.

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Two years ago, when Scheffler won his first Masters, he made the special trek from the 18th green to the scoring area with Meredith. It’s often a victory walk reserved for players and a loved one — Tiger Woods made the walk with his son, Charlie, in 2019 — as they split a sea of cheering patrons en route to just the first of many post-round obligations (and celebrations).

But with Meredith back home, Scheffler wasn’t about to go it alone. After handing out a few hugs, he stopped and waited. Then he looked back behind him.

“Hey, Teddy!” he yelled.

Teddy is Ted Scott, Scheffler’s trusty caddie who was also on his bag for his 2022 Masters win. Scott isn’t new to these celebrations, either. Besides winning with Scheffler two years ago, he won two Masters titles with Bubba Watson in 2012 and 2014.

Scott was still hugging family members when he caught up with Scheffler, who wanted Scott to make the walk with him.

“He doesn’t want to make the walk alone this time,” Jim Nantz said on the broadcast.

Scott lugged his TaylorMade bag over his right shoulder and held the Masters flagstick in his left. Scheffler patted him on the back and then pushed him forward. Scott flipped the flagstick around, held it in the air so the flag whipped in the wind, and led the way. He marched toward the scoring area as Scheffler trailed behind, high-fiving patrons the entire way.

“That was great of him,” Nantz said. “What a gesture.”

Scheffler and Scott have a special relationship, and the former has often credited the latter for keeping his emotions in check.

“What’s really unique to Teddy is his personality; he’s totally unfazed,” Scheffler told GOLF.com during a 2022 interview. “I remember one moment in Phoenix that we had, I think it was Thursday. I got this horrendous break in a bunker. I had a really easy bunker shot that would have been easy, but my ball was in like a hole. And so it went from being a cake shot to a really, really hard shot. And I somehow pulled off this amazing shot to nip it and land it on the fringe to trickle down to the hole, because I couldn’t get any height on it because I was sitting so down low in this hole. I hit this amazing shot and it lands on the fringe right where I want to and then goes into a sprinkler head and just spins around.

“Instead of having a putt from a foot, I’ve got a 12-footer. And I’m freaking out like, ‘How could this happen?’ And he’s standing up on the green, literally laughing at me. And I’m sitting there looking at him like, ‘Dude, come on, man.’ But then he just snaps me out of the frustration really quickly. Most caddies I don’t think would do that. Like, they don’t have the guts to laugh at their player when something like that is happening. And, you know, he just keeps things really light. And we talk through all of our shots on the golf course. There’s pretty much never a shot that I don’t discuss with him.”

Scheffler’s final-round four-under 68 helped him to an 11-under total, which was four shots clear of runner-up Ludvig Aberg. Tommy Fleetwood, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa tied for third at four under.