Why Scottie Scheffler thinks his Masters win was written in stars

God and sport. It’s a fascinating topic. ‘I’ve been given a gift of this talent and I use it for God’s glory,’ Scottie Scheffler said after winning the Masters.

Scottie Scheffler and caddie Ted Scott celebrate on the 18th green after winning the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images/AFP

Scottie Scheffler is talking us through his final round at the Masters.

“So, on the third hole, I used a driver and a lob-wedge and a putter,” he says.

Okey-dokey.

“And then I bogeyed on four. I hit a three-iron over the green.”

Uh-huh.

“Parred 5.”

Great.

“Parred 6.”

Bravo. 

“Seven was unusual because I hit driver, four-iron, lob-wedge and missed the putt for par.”

Got it.

“Number eight was driver, three-iron, lob-wedge.”

Beauty.

“Number nine was driver, lob-wedge.”

Easy.

“Ten was driver, pitching wedge.”

Good stuff.

“Eleven was a bogey. That was driver, seven-iron, lob-wedge.”

Rightio.

“Thirteen was driver, four-iron.”

Nice.

“Fourteen was three-wood, wedge.”

Ripper.

“Sixteen was an eight-iron.”

And?

“And then the rest were pars.”

He’s hurrying his way through his post-Masters press conference because he wants to skedaddle to Dallas to be with his heavily pregnant wife, Meredith. Then his eyes light up. Now he’ll talk until the rooster crows in the morning. Because he’s being asked about his Christian faith. It’s among the most fascinating topics in sport: the role of God in wins, losses, three-foot putts, bogeys, triple bogeys, missed cuts, all of it, none of it. Believers say God’s role isn’t remotely about results. It’s about the peace it brings to a God-fearing, Jesus-loving person in life … and to a golfer under pressure at the Masters.

Scheffler’s belief is God has given him a special sporting talent. It’s up to him to make the most of it. Mockers roll their eyes and want to ask, so, why did you need the bridge to get across Rae’s Creek? Couldn’t you just shuffle on over the water? Where was God when you missed your par putt on the 11th?

But that’s not what the world’s best golfer is saying. After a week of claiming his “identity” won’t depend on winning the Masters, he’s asked, what, then, does will it depend on?

“That’s a great question,” Scheffler says. “I mean, I believe that today’s plans were already laid out many years ago and I could do nothing to mess up those plans. I’ve been given a gift of this talent and I use it for God’s glory. That’s pretty much it. So when I’m out there, I try to compete to the best of my abilities. I do really want to win.

“I feel like that’s how I was designed. I’ve been that way since I was a young kid. That’s always been a part of me and I don’t think that should be going away anytime soon. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, either. At the end of the day, like I said, my identity is secure already, and I get to come out here and compete, have fun, enjoy it. And then at the end of the day, win or lose, my identity is secure.”

Serbia's Novak Djokovic at the Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament. Picture: Valery Hache/AFP

Djokovic has climbed the mountain in tennis with a more extreme Christian belief. He’s a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Competes with a small wooden cross around his neck. When he beat Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final in five hours and 53 minutes in 2012, he tore off his shirt and there it was, his cross, on the chest he was thumping with his right fist.

“(I can rely) on God and guardian angels,” he told Serbian media after winning his 24th major at last year’s US Open. “In moments when I don’t feel my legs anymore, when I don’t have any strength left, when the ball is blurry – in those moments, I hope for divine intervention.”

Devoted Christian and ex-world No.1 tennis player Stan Smith said after Djokovic’s win: “It’s hard to know how meaningful it really is to each individual person unless you know that person, and I’ve never spoken to Novak about it, but I would say faith gives you a better perspective on life. In a sporting context, I don’t think God is going to choose between one or the other player. But the point of having faith is to know you are safe and it doesn’t really matter if you win or lose.

“My feeling was always that God had given me a certain amount of talent and he expected me to get the most out of that talent. So in the end it was up to me, and that drove me to train as hard as I could, and compete as hard as I could, to do justice to the talent I was given.”

Scheffler doesn’t go as far as Djokovic. He doesn’t claim to be calling on God and guardian angels, not even around Amen Corner, and there’s no sign of a cross around his neck. But faith is clearly the guiding force in his life. When Meredith stays in Dallas because their first child is due any day, he invites Christian friends to stay with him, and his caddie, Ted Scott, is cut from the same cloth.

“This Sunday morning was definitely different,” he says. “Instead of just me and Mer at the house, I had a couple of my buddies with me. We sat and relaxed. Tried not to think about golf, but it was increasingly difficult. You know, they were a great support for me. I was a bit overwhelmed and I told them, ‘I wish I didn’t want to win as badly as I did I or as badly as I do.’ And my buddies told me this morning that my victory was secure on the cross. That’s a pretty special feeling to know that I’m secure for forever and it doesn’t matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever.”

Put it all on the cross. The strongest of Christian messages. The reason for Jesus’s crucifixion. He’s died on the cross so that one’s troubles can be placed up there, too. Stress, worry, fear, anxiety, sin – the cross takes care of them all. And then you have peace whether you’re digging ditches for a living or playing golf.

When Scheffler is asked about his conversation with Meredith before his final round, he replies: “She just asked me if she could pray for me. And I actually wasn’t able to talk to her very long this morning, which was unusual. She sent a lot of prayers. My neck was bugging me a little bit. Just prayed for some healing and prayed for a lot of peace out there.

“I had a good conversation with my buddies this morning about the victory and that victory already being secure.”

Scheffler’s demeanour hasn’t changed all day at Augusta National. He’s looked calm when he’s ventured to the chipping green. Looked calm when he’s moved to the driving range. Looked calm when he’s moved to the putting green next to the first tee. Looked calm on the first tee. Looked calm on the first fairway. Looked calm all the way up to the 18th green and the winning putt. Why so peaceful?

“Gosh, that’s a good question,” he says. “I feel like playing professional golf is an endlessly not satisfying career. For instance, in my head, all I can think about right now is getting home. I’m not thinking about the tournament. I’m not thinking about the green jacket. I’m trying to answer your questions and I’m trying to get home.

“I wish I could soak this in a little bit more. Maybe I will tonight when I get home. But at the end of the day, I think that’s what the human heart does. You always want more and I think you have to fight those things and focus on what’s good because like I said, winning this golf tournament does not change my identity. My identity is secure and I cannot – I cannot emphasise that enough.”