A well-timed commercial helped Scottie Scheffler’s wife — who was his girlfriend at the time — realize his favorite game was more than just a hobby.
Scheffler is starting his 2023 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua this week, just like 38 other pros. When speaking to the media on Wednesday, he was asked about meeting his wife, Meredith (they were married in 2020), and how much she knows about the game and has learned over the years.
Scheffler said they first met when they were freshmen in their Dallas high school but didn’t start dating until they were seniors. (“I had to woo her for a few years,” he joked.)
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Scheffler, like a lot of pros on Tour, played elite-level junior and amateur golf growing up, but even when he was with Meredith, he said, she didn’t realize at what a high level he played. Until one afternoon.
“I remember specifically when we dated in high school I got an opportunity — I won the U.S. Junior in 2013 — and in 2014 I had the opportunity to play in the Byron Nelson as a high school student,” Scheffler said. “And Meredith, like, I was at her house one day, we were hanging out with her dad or something and the commercial came on TV. And she was kind of looking around, she was like, ‘Wait a minute. Isn’t that next weekend? Isn’t that what you’re doing?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I’m doing.’ She’s like, ‘Wow, that’s cool.'”
Scheffler said she’s learned fast, though, especially because she has spent lots of time with Scheffler’s parents.
Meredith has played an impactful role in Scheffler’s golf career, too. Last April in Augusta, Ga., after his three-stroke Masters win, Scheffler said he “cried like a baby” on Sunday morning. The nerves were getting to him. Then she stepped in and calmed him.
“She told me, ‘Who are you to say that you are not ready? Who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life?'” Scheffler said that Sunday night as a new major champion. “So what we talked about is that God is in control and that the Lord is leading me; and if today is my time, it’s my time. And if I shot 82 today, you know, somehow I was going to use it for His glory. Gosh, it was a long morning.”
That turned into an unforgettable day.