Scottie Scheffler had a fantastic 2022, winning the 2022 Masters Tournament and the PGA Tour Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season. Fans might be surprised to learn that the professional golfer comes from a golfing family. Scheffler was born in New Jersey and was raised in both the Garden State and Texas, along with three sisters. His parents are Scott and Diane Scheffler.
Here’s what you need to know about Scottie Scheffler’s family:
1. Scottie Scheffler Was Born in New Jersey & Lived the First Part of His Childhood There & His Father Was Very Supportive of His Athletic Dreams
Scheffler was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, to Scott and Diane Scheffler, and he spent the first several years of his life living in the Garden State. He grew up with three sisters and the four siblings were very competitive and into various sports. His mother worked at a law firm in New York City and worked long hours, sometimes seven days a week, WFAA reported.
His father, on the other hand, was a stay-at-home dad and took care of the four kids, often helping out when they would play sports. He recalled the group going to the green behind Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey, and revealed he’d hold the flashlight while Scheffler practiced his strokes in the dark. Scheffler was five or six years old then and his father said he’d sometimes hit one of his sisters. “He used to yell,” he told WFAA. “He would yell at us when he hit it. He would hit the girls.”
While speaking with NJ.com, Scheffler Sr. said the police sometimes came to kick them off the golf course but the family kept returning every time. He recalled, “One day, the guy (at the course) finally came out and I said, ‘Could you just watch for a minute?’ And he’s like, ‘Wow. He’s really good at this!’ Then they wouldn’t bother us any more.”
Scott Scheffler is a really proud dad, who drove his kids to all of their sporting events. He told WFAA that while he encouraged his son to practice golf, he wanted him to try all sports and become well-rounded. The pro golfer said his father did a “great job” raising him and his sisters, while his father said, “It’s just what you do as a father for your children.” He said all his kids have brought him joy and said Scheffler is the one who got himself to where he is today.
“He’s the one that did all the hard work, not me,” he told WFAA emotionally after his son’s Masters win in 2022. “I just raised him and tried the best I could to be a good dad.”
Cameras caught a touching moment between father and son after Scheffler’s win. As the two hugged, Scott Scheffler told his son, “I’m more proud of who you are than your golf. You’re a wonderful young man.”
2. Scottie Scheffler’s Family Moved to Dallas, Texas, as His Mother Became the Chief Operating Officer of a New Law Firm
During his early childhood in New Jersey, his mother Diane Scheffler worked at a law firm in New York City but the family moved to Dallas, Texas, and she began a new job as a chief operating officer of a new law firm called Thompson & Knight. The family joined the prestigious Royal Oaks Country Club, where Scheffler began to play more and more often, according to WFAA.
He shared that they didn’t know anyone when they first moved to Dallas but that nearly the whole Scheffler family lives there now. “When we moved to Dallas it was pretty uncomfortable for my parents,” he told Golf Digest. “Basically uprooted their whole lives, everything they knew to come here where they didn’t really know anybody besides my mom’s boss.”
The feeling didn’t last, however, and Scheffler said the kids soon felt at home in the city and pursued their own interests. “I was 8 years old and already loved golf,” he dished to Golf Digest. “My mom worked, and my three sisters had swim meets and golf tournaments to get to, so my dad couldn’t just hit balls with me all the time. My parents needed somewhere they could leave me and not worry. That’s when we met Randy Smith, and we joined Royal Oaks.”
He said it wasn’t until he was an adult and professional golfer that he realized his parents had borrowed money to be able to join the club. He described it as a “huge sacrifice” that he hadn’t even known about for years.
“They didn’t parent perfectly, obviously, but for me, they did the best they could all the time, and I love them for that,” Scheffler said after his Masters win, according to the Associated Press. “You know, I can’t speak highly enough of the hard work that they have put in. I can’t put it into words, I really can’t.”
3. Scottie Scheffler Has 3 Sisters & All of Them Played Golf & Other Sports
Scheffler was his parents’ only son but he grew up with three sisters who were very competitive and all pushed each other in sports. His sister Callie Scheffler played golf at Texas A&M and was also Scheffler’s caddie when he competed at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont as an amateur.
His two other sisters, Molly and Sara Scheffler, also play golf. Sara Scheffler graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in finance and sustainability while the youngest, Molly Scheffler, graduated from Texas A&M in 2022 with a degree in psychology, according to her LinkedIn.
Callie Scheffler got emotional as she spoke about her brother’s accomplishments with PGA Tour. “He will stay down to earth,” she said. “He has three sisters and a wife who will keep him in line… This is beyond any of our wildest dreams, but golf is just what he does, it’s not who he is. He is an incredible person, brother, son, husband and soon-to-be uncle. It’s great to share in these successes he’s having, but at the end of the day it’s even greater to have him as a brother. We are very blessed.”
Scheffler said that growing up with three sisters meant that he was always outvoted when it came to choosing what games they’d play. However, they did play sports a lot and were quite competitive, battling it out in their backyard in “intense” putting contests, their father shared. “He makes those putts out here because he had to back then,” Scheffler Sr. spilled. “He did not want to lose, and he still doesn’t. That’s why he plays. To compete.”
4. Scottie Scheffler’s Family, Including His Grandmother, Has Stolen Fans’ Hearts on the PGA Tour
Scheffler’s family has gone viral for a few heartwarming moments on the PGA Tour. In one such moment, Rory McIlroy approached Scheffler’s family to apologize after his come-from-behind victory against Scheffler in the FedEx Cup in August 2022.
McIlroy went to Scheffler’s father and told him, “I’m sorry.” Scott Scheffler hugged his son’s opponent and told him, “No, you don’t have to do that.” McIlroy told his competitor’s family that Scheffler “deserved” the win and that he had “an unbelievable year.” McIlroy also hugged Scheffler’s mother and his wife, Meredith Scudder. The latter told McIlroy, “So proud of you. That’s amazing. You kicked butt today. Congrats.”
Another heartwarming moment involved Scheffler’s grandmother, Mary DeLorenzo, who walked all 72 holes of the four-day TPC Sawgrass event in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in March 2023.
Scheffler, who ended up winning the tournament, shared in his victory speech that his grandmother lives around 20 minutes away from the course. “She turns 88 in about a week and a half,” he said. “All 72 holes she walked, even the ones from yesterday.” He said the fact that she was there and he won just made it an extra special memory.
5. Scottie Scheffler Is Married to His High School Sweetheart, Meredith Scudder
Scheffler is married to Meredith Scudder, his high school sweetheart. The couple met as freshmen at Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas, but didn’t date until senior year. Scheffler joked in one interview that he had to “woo” Scudder first before they could begin dating.
The couple transitioned to a long-distance relationship after high school as Scheffler went to the University of Texas and Scudder studied at Texas A&M University. She also traveled to Zambia for a few months on an internship, her LinkedIn shows. The couple got engaged in June 2020 and tied the knot a few months later, on December 4, 2020, at Arlington Hall in Dallas, Texas.
Scudder works as the director of curating opportunities at a Dallas non-profit important to the couple, Behind Every Door (BED). According to its social media pages, BED’s goal is to “transform underserved neighborhoods by empowering individuals and families to build and sustain healthy communities.”
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Scottie Scheffler’s Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know