One guaranteed consequence of winning the Masters, especially your first Masters, is a whirlwind media tour around the country. But it’s not all hard work. An essential aspect of that media tour is throwing out the first pitch at an MLB game. On Wednesday night, newly-minted Masters champion Scottie Scheffler got his chance.
Though he was actually born in New Jersey, Scheffler grew up in Texas, so it was only fitting that the Texas Rangers were the team to invite him out for a ceremonial first pitch.
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The Rangers faced their in-state rivals, the Houston Astros, on Wednesday, and before the official first pitch was thrown by Astros starter Cristian Javier, Scheffler had to open the festivities.
The World No. 1 — dressed in khakis, a white button-down shirt, gold tie and, of course, his brand-new Masters green jacket (which was buttoned-up throughout) — raised his arms to the hometown crowd who applauded in return as he walked to the mound.
Some celebrities and athletes choose to throw their ceremonial first pitches from in front of the mound, making it much easier to avoid an embarrassing spike into the grass. Not Scottie. With one foot on the rubber, Scheffler threw a solid pitch that, while a little high, easily made it all the way to plate, making a resounding smack in the glove of Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.
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After the pitch, Scheffler greeted Lowe and the Rangers mascot in between home plate and the mound, where the trio posed for pictures. While smiling for the cameras, hot mics caught Scheffler as he thanked Lowe before leaning in and saying, “Let me know If you ever want to play golf,” to which Lowe quickly replied, “I would love to.”
The camerman then caught Scheffler for a quick first-reaction interview before he walked off the field.
“I did alright. They said aim high, and I hit his glove. I don’t know if it was…,” Scheffler said, pausing to laugh and adjust his green jacket, “I know I made it there, I didn’t bounce it.”
You can check out Scheffler’s entire first pitch moment below.