On Sunday, April 14th, Scottie Scheffler won the 2024 Masters Championship, his second win of this tournament in a three-year span.
This win marked the number-one ranked golfer’s (per the World Golf Rankings) ninth tournament title of his career, as well as his third this year. With these recent accomplishments, Scheffler has definitely already cemented himself as one of the greatest players among his contemporaries, and if his recent success continues for the next couple of years he will certainly join players such as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods on the Mount Rushmore of Golf.
So why should everyone be rooting for Scheffler these days?
Isn’t it normal to hate the good teams and players solely for the fact that they win everything? Well I have two reasons, and you’ll see why Scottie is really one-of-a-kind in today’s generation of golf.
First, we should root for Scheffler because of his loyalty to the PGA. Since 1916, the PGA Tour has stood as the highest level of professional golf on the planet, and players have always respected its authority. The entire game of golf and its rules developed with this association, so there’s always been a high standard of respect from players towards the PGA.
However, this sort of changed in 2021 when Greg Norman found the LIV Golf tour, which is thriving thanks to millions of dollars in backing from Saudi billionaires. Players from the PGA are defecting to LIV to make a ton of money, and overall there’s been a severe decline in respect for the PGA in the past several years. Former PGA players (and Masters Champions) such as Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm are among some of the top players that left to get a cut of the Saudi reserves.
However, players like Scheffler are different, and he’s been one of the loudest voices among players such as Rory McIlroy that have spoken out against LIV. Scheffler has shown that he doesn’t really care about making millions of dollars, and that he’d rather play for the institution with a rich history and community. That’s rare these days, and it really shows his character.
Secondly, people should be rooting for Scheffler because of his poise both on and off the fairways.
In the face of intense competition from players like Colin Morikawa and Ludwig Aberg, Scheffler kept his composure and was able to play his game the right way in order to get the green jacket.
Scheffler is also very open about his faith and family life, stating in his post-victory interview that he would have dropped out of the tournament in a heartbeat if his wife had called him if she had gone into labor. He also accredited his victory to God, remaining humble and stating that he would not be where he is as a player without the support he receives from his close friends and family. Scheffler isn’t the type to boast his win or taunt other players, and that’s a good thing because sports across the board need good role models for the next generation of athletes.
Congratulations again to Scottie Scheffler for winning this year’s Masters tournament, and it’ll be really fun to watch his game develop into something greater in the coming decade.
