Being the No. 1 golfer in the world comes with some strange territory to navigate, as Scottie Scheffler has found out first-hand.
Scheffler, 28, has had a massively successful year thus far on the PGA Tour, winning six times before the calendar turned to July. All of the attention and accolades have found Scheffler hounded by golf fans at every turn — with often awkward results.
“There’s always some funny ones because I think sometimes people don’t know exactly what to say,” Scheffler told The Athletic in a story published Wednesday, July 17, “and they can be a bit weird at times.”
Despite routinely being at the top of the leaderboard, Scheffler claimed he’s still puzzled about why he’s garnered so much fanfare.
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“I couldn’t tell you,” Scheffler said. “I guess you’d have to ask them.”
Still, Scheffler is well aware of the impact and influence he currently holds — even if he can’t always make everybody happy.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling to be able to make someone’s day by signing an autograph or taking a picture,” he acknowledged. “It’s a pretty fun feeling. I’m trying to embrace more of that side of it than not being able to sign everyone’s autograph. People are upset because you can’t get to them throughout the day. That’s not a fun feeling. I’m trying to lean into more of making somebody’s day by signing something or taking a picture.”
In recent months, Scheffler’s private life has taken on just as much intrigue as his professional one.
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Scheffler’s wife Meredith gave birth to their first child, son Bennett, in May. When Scheffler emerged victorious at The Memorial a few weeks later, both Meredith and baby Bennett were on hand to celebrate with him on the 18th green.
Balancing his golf life and his family life has been a delicate learning experience, Scheffler candidly admitted.
“I think that’s something that my wife and I are always working on,” Scheffler said. “When we’re at home getting rest, what does it actually look like to be restful? That’s not necessarily sitting there and watching TV. There’s a lot of different things we do to get good quality rest so that, when we come back out on the road and play and do things, I have the energy to compete.”
This week, Scheffler is competing at The 152nd Open Championship at Scotland’s Royal Troon, where he’s the odds-on favorite to win the tournament.
