Scottie Scheffler is ready to win another Masters. But this one will be

AUGUSTA, Ga. — There’s no way he doesn’t hear them. Three rows into the Augusta National driving range is the Scheffler clan, holding court some 20 yards from the No. 1 player in the world. There they are: father, Scott; mother, Diane; sisters Molly and Sara; all leaned back in their seats with their legs stretched out, hamming it up without a worry in the world. They are narrating his shots, and the girls are pressuring Scott to get them cookies before their brother’s round. There’s no way Scottie Scheffler doesn’t hear them, 20 minutes before teeing off as co-leader at the Masters. But all he does is stripe golf balls into the Georgia sky, unaffected, and joke around with his caddie, Ted Scott, and coach, Randy Smith.

This is all just the norm for Scheffler. Playing weekend rounds in the final groups on the largest stages with his family nearby has become a weekly occurrence. And Sunday, he’ll play for his second green jacket starting with a one-shot lead over Collin Morikawa.

But this week, he doesn’t have Meredith.

His high school sweetheart and wife is eight months pregnant. She’s a mainstay at tournaments, the bubbly, joyful presence who sprints onto greens after his nine wins in 26 months. She’s due in a few weeks (Scheffler has vowed to leave and head home if she goes into labor during the tournament), so for the first time in years, Meredith is not at the house with Scheffler, a disconcerting and foreign feeling for the 27-year-old phenom. He had to make himself breakfast Friday — some eggs and toast — which he joked was an adjustment. “Fortunately, Nike kind of takes care of my clothes this week, so I don’t have to pick my own outfits,” he said.

Then his housemate and best friend, Sam Burns, missed the Masters cut Friday, meaning Scheffler had the house to himself for the weekend. That didn’t feel right, so he invited some of his good friends to stay with him. They made breakfast Saturday morning and hung out before it was time to go to the course.

Scottie and Meredith Scheffler after his 2022 Masters win. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

But the story of Scheffler at the Masters cannot be told without Meredith and their emotional morning two years ago. Their lives changed forever that day, just like they’re about to change this month when they have their first child.

Two years ago, Scheffler led the Masters by three strokes. He was 25 and entered that year without a PGA Tour win. Suddenly, he was about to become golf’s greatest force. That morning, he cried. “I don’t think I’m ready for this,” he said. “I’m not ready.”

“She told me, ‘Who are you to say that you are not ready? Who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life?’” Scheffler recalled. “And so what we talked about is that God is in control and that the Lord is leading me.”

Scheffler went on to win the Masters by three shots, launching his life into a new orbit. He’s No. 1 in the world. He has…