AUGUSTA, Ga. — For the first time since 1994, neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson will be at the Masters. Woods is reportedly in treatment and facing legal issues after his latest crash; Mickelson is dealing with a personal health matter. Both would have drawn the biggest galleries and loudest roars, even if neither would have been a favorite to win this week.
That absence leaves golf’s biggest stage and its biggest star in a different key. Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, carries a very different energy than the two icons who long dominated the sport’s cultural landscape. Where Tiger and Phil were often combustible, charismatic and drama-prone, Scheffler presents as low-key, deliberate and quietly centered — a faith-balanced family man from Texas who prefers to downplay the trappings of stardom.
He admits he doesn’t know how to use Instagram and showed up on the practice green Wednesday carrying his putter alone, without entourage or security. He talks more readily about wife Meredith and their children — Bennett, nearly 2, and newborn Remy — than about mechanics or swing adjustments. Meredith, he said, is handling the midnight wake-ups so he can sleep during Masters week. “My wife is a trouper,” he said.
Scheffler’s temperament isn’t lack of competitiveness. At 29 he has already won four majors, including green jackets in 2022 and 2024, and held the No. 1 ranking for an extended stretch. But he’s careful not to let golf results define him. “It’s always been a battle for me trying to strike a balance between continuing to work hard, staying competitive, and also not having my — either my good golf or my bad golf — define me,” he said. Letting bad golf define him would make him miserable; letting good golf do so would make him arrogant, he said.
That perspective is striking in a sport used to louder personalities and winner-takes-all narratives. Scheffler impresses by not trying to impress, projecting quiet confidence and a sense that life beyond trophies matters. “Sometimes I think it feels like we live almost two separate lives,” he said, describing the divide between family and the demands of elite golf. “Once you drive down Magnolia Lane, everything else melts away.”
He also keeps things grounded with ordinary parenting moments. At a recent Nike party, he hustled Bennett to eat some sausages so he could have a sugar cookie. “He’s like, ‘Cookie.’ I’m like, ‘if you eat this,’” Scheffler recalled with a laugh, noting his friends watched the scene with amused familiarity.
Not everyone views the modern tone as a net positive. “Let’s be honest, without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the events, in golf, when they both step away, honestly I feel it hurts the game,” Patrick Reed said this week. There’s no denying the excitement Tiger and Phil generated. But Scheffler’s steadier, family-first approach may be the kind of example the sport — and perhaps society — needs now: a champion who seeks something larger than himself, who still pursues excellence but refuses to be defined solely by wins and losses.
The golf remains elite. The vibe is different. For many, that combination is refreshing.