Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler (born June 21, 1996, Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S.) is an American golfer who in 2024 had the best single-season performance by a pro since the heyday of Tiger Woods. That year Scheffler played in 19 events and won 7, the biggest one-year total since Woods captured 7 titles in 2007. Among Scheffler’s notable 2024 achievements were winning a second Masters Tournament, earning a gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games, and being named the PGA Tour Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. In 2025 he became only the third golfer in the modern era, after Woods and Jack Nicklaus, to win at least 15 titles, including 3 majors, before age 29. Since notching his first PGA Tour win in 2022, four years after turning pro, Scheffler has distinguished himself as the most consistent player of his generation, which includes compatriots such as Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, who had early successes followed by abrupt reversals of fortune. He excels at driving and iron play and has rapidly improved his putting, one of the only discernible weaknesses in his early career.

Career highlights

Here are some of Scheffler’s notable achievements in golf.

What’s made Scheffler who he is?

Upbringing

Scheffler’s remarkable consistency on the PGA Tour is a reflection of the steadiness of his path to becoming a pro. He began playing with a plastic golf club as a toddler in New Jersey. By the time he and his family moved to Dallas in 2002, when he was six years old, he showed enough promise in the sport that his parents took out a loan to join the Royal Oaks Country Club and enlist Randy Smith, a veteran instructor, to coach him. Thereafter Scheffler spent much of his free time at the club, avidly watching older golfers—several of whom were pros—and honing his skills. Scheffler is still an active member at Royal Oaks and, more than two decades later, still employs Smith as his coach.

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Why was Scheffler arrested in 2024?

Because of his relatively low-key public profile, it was especially surprising when Scheffler had a brush with the law in 2024. On May 17 Scheffler was driving early in the morning to play in the second round of the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Police were directing traffic around the scene of an earlier accident, and Scheffler was arrested after an officer accused him of failing to follow orders and dragging the officer, who had been holding onto Scheffler’s moving vehicle, for a short distance. The golfer was taken to jail and charged with a felony and several misdemeanors, though the charges were later dropped. Scheffler expressed regret over what he described as “a severe miscommunication in a chaotic situation.”