Scottie Scheffler plays Augusta National with the one family member who hadn't yet
Scottie Scheffler plays Augusta National with the one family member who hadn't yet
AUGUST, Ga. — Papa Scheff? Check. Sisters? Check. Now, the final piece of the Scheffler clan has played Augusta National.
At 1:37 p.m., the defending champion began his Masters preparation on No. 1 alongside his playing partner — mother, Diane.
'This is so special,' Scottie's father, Scott, said aloud to fans at No. 1 tee. 'I'm getting emotional.'
As the elder Scheffler batted away tears, Scottie and his caddie, Ted Scott, greeted Diane on the member's tee box.
'I like driver here,' Scottie, laughing, advised his mom.
Diane agreed, pulling off a head cover and sailing a shot to the right side of No. 1 fairway.
'Nice,' Scottie said.
On Sunday before Masters Week, Augusta National encourages past champions to bring a guest to play the course.
Last April, Scottie invited Molly, his younger sister. A year later, Diane was sitting on a steel bench in Central Park when her son called with an idea. A Sunday stroll at Augusta? Done deal.
'Isn't this incredible?' said Christy Lambert, a patron from San Diego. 'Scottie might not win the Masters again, but he's already won son-of-the-year.'
Prior to teeing off with mom, Scottie, donning a beard, blue polo and khaki pants, handed out trophies to the winners of the Drive, Chip & Putt — Boys 12-13 age division.
Moments after the ceremony, contestant Hudson Blake pulled Scheffler to the side.
'What's your favorite worship song,' Hudson asked.
Scottie retrieved a cell phone from his pocket and shared the answer: 'Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me.'
'That was pretty cool,' Hudson said.
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USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Q&A: Bryson DeChambeau talks title defense ahead of 2025 U.S. Open
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NBC Sports
6 hours ago
- NBC Sports
U.S. Open power rankings: Every player at Oakmont ranked Nos. 1-156
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I'm just concerned about the driving – outside the top 90 in strokes gained off the tee – plus he's kind of cooled off in recent starts. 18. Bud Cauley: The first final qualifier on the list. Top 10 in total strokes gained this season with the ball-striking a huge reason for that. 19. Patrick Reed: Hard to measure strokes gained toughness, but Reed is one of the best in that category. Third at the Masters before missing the PGA cut, but he's made seven straight U.S. Open cuts with four top-20s during that streak. 20. Tommy Fleetwood: Sneakily ranks sixth in total strokes gained this year. And he's finished outside the top 25 just twice in his past 22 starts. That's insane. May 24, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Chris Gotterup walks from the ninth green during the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images Nos. 21-30 21. Russell Henley: He's really let us down in the majors with MCs at both this year. His lack of length shouldn't be as big a deal at Oakmont, and we love that his top 12 in driving accuracy and second in proximity. 22. Harris English: Has top-12s in three of his last four starts, including a T-2 at the PGA. Also has three top-10s in his last five U.S. Open appearances. 23. J.J. Spaun: We've rolled with him in each of the year's first two majors, and he's done OK. Top 20 in total driving and fifth in strokes gained approach has him high in the model, but he gets bumped down a little until he proves it more in majors. 24. Chris Gotterup: Another qualifier. Hits it forever but struggles to find fairways, so this is risky. But he's also top 10 in bogey avoidance and he's posted five top-20s in his last seven starts. 25. Ben Griffin: He's in elite form right now, just nothing statistically jumps out to say he'll contend in a U.S. Open, especially his debut. 26. Aaron Rai: No has hit more fairways or at a higher percentage. And though he's missed two straight cuts, he's been solid in the major this year – T-27 at Masters, T-19 at PGA. 27. Tyrrell Hatton: Scrambling and finding fairways have kept Hatton right around the top 25 in recent U.S. Opens. That's probably where he ends up again. 28. Taylor Pendrith: Pendy has been hot since his T-5 at Quail. He's fifth in total driving and nearly top 30 in strokes gained approach. 29. Tony Finau: Trending similarly to last year when he was T-3 at Pinehurst. He's turned around the iron play and his short game has been a real weapon, too. Plus, we know he can send it. 30. Brooks Koepka: Just waiting for Major Brooks to return. It's been a while – no top-20s since the 2023 U.S. Open. He's just not putting well. Jun 6, 2025; Caledon, Ontario, CAN; Ludvig Aberg hits his tee shot at the third hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Nos. 31-40 31. Carlos Ortiz: A win and a couple other top-10s in his last four LIV starts. He's kind of like LIV Spieth with a worse short game. 32. Sungjae Im: Top 8 in both driving accuracy and strokes gained around the green. The big concern is he's missed three straight U.S. Open cuts. 33. Viktor Hovland: Top 10 in strokes gained approach and nearly top 30 in total driving should have him higher, but the short game and putting speed continue to hamper him. 34. Ludvig Aberg: Was T-12 in his U.S. Open debut last year, but he's still ranked outside the top 115 in strokes gained approach. Still, top 25 in total driving and top 15 in proximity, so a top-20 isn't a terrible bet. 35. Michael Kim: He's cooled bit, and it's been because of a combination of different things. But Top 20 in strokes gained around the green and bogey avoidance, and I've always thought his game set up well for these classic U.S. Open tests. 36. Gary Woodland: He's not been better than T-49 in his last eight major starts, but top 25 in total driving and proximity. The rough won't bother him. 37. Maverick McNealy: A good bet to lead the field in strokes gained putting this week. Just needs to hit more fairways and scramble better. 38. Hideki Matsuyama: Might be the lowest I've ever ranked Hideki. A couple top-6s in his last three U.S. Open starts, and though I love his short game, he's just not striking it well right now. 39. Sam Burns: Has four top-20s in his last five starts, and he's rolling his rock right now. Different grasses at Oakmont, sure, but Burns' T-9 last year at Pinehurst was promising. I just need to see it more. 40. Nick Taylor: He's missed nine of his last 10 major cuts. Gulp. But he's top 20 in a bunch of stats – driving accuracy, strokes gained approach, bogey avoidance. Get him on a course where distance isn't necessarily king, and I like him here. May 4, 2025; McKinney, Texas, USA; Erik van Rooyen prepares to play a shot from the sixth tee during the final round of the THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images Nos. 41-50 41. Min Woo Lee: He's simmered since winning in Houston. But there's a lot to like if he can hit fairways. Granted, that's a big if. 42. Ryan Gerard: Ranks 20th in total strokes gained – and that's with a putter that's been frustrating over recent months. T-8 at PGA should give him some major confidence, too. 43. Erik van Rooyen: Sixth in total driving, though he must hit his irons better than he did at Quail. Three straight MCs at the U.S. Open, but he was T-23 at Winged Foot in 2020. 44. Thorbjorn Olesen: Doing everything above average right now, which explains why he's 13th in total strokes gained. His play in Canada gives me extra confidence. I'd rank him higher if his major record was better. 45. Emiliano Grillo: The iron game has really flashed of late as he's posted four top-25s in his last six starts. Could another Argentine contend at Oakmont? 46. Brian Harman: Since his T-2 at the 2017 U.S. Open, he's not missed a cut at this championship. 47. Akshay Bhatia: Top 25 in strokes gained approach and proximity, though outside the top 125 in total driving. Some of that is distance related. Also, his short game has been uncharacteristically poor of late. But he was T-16 at Pinehurst last year, and if he figures it out, has the game to win one of these someday. 48. Cameron Smith: Not the same guy who posted five top-10s, including a win, in a nine-major span a few years ago. Has missed three straight major cuts as he just doesn't drive it well enough to contend. 49. Andrew Novak: Breakout year, and he's done most of his work on the better designed courses on the Tour rota. Good short game and speed on the greens. He'll make his first major cut this week. 50. Brian Campbell: He will rank last in the field in driving distance, but not many will find more fairways and display a better short game. May 14, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Matt McCarty pitches out of the bunker on the ninth hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Nos. 51-60 Adam Scott Victor Perez Lucas Glover Matt McCarty Davis Thompson J.T. Poston Sam Stevens Denny McCarthy Tom Hoge Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen Nos. 61-70 Marc Leishman Stephan Jaeger Nico Echavarria Jordan Smith Matt Wallace Matt Fitzpatrick Laurie Canter Cameron Young Jason Day Jackson Koivun (a) Nos. 71-80 Max Greyserman Johnny Keefer Mark Hubbard Jhonattan Vegas Thomas Detry Wyndham Clark Mackenzie Hughes Rasmus Hojgaard Davis Riley Niklas Norgaard Nos. 81-90 Justin Rose Tom Kim Christiaan Bezuidenhout Jacob Bridgeman Ben James (a) Frederic LaCroix Chris Kirk Lanto Griffin Jose Luis Ballester Matthew Jordan Nos. 91-100 Byeong Hun An Alvaro Ortiz Nick Dunlap Matthieu Pavon Justin Lower Cam Davis Joe Highsmith Sam Bairstow Richard Bland Trevor Cone Nos. 101-110 Jacques Kruyswijk Edoardo Molinari Will Chandler Dustin Johnson Zac Blair Maxwell Moldovan Ryan McCormick Kevin Velo Scott Vincent Trent Phillips Nos. 111-120 Guido Migliozzi James Nicholas Preston Summerhays Adam Schenk Andrea Pavan Phil Mickelson Michael La Sasso (a) Thriston Lawrence Jackson Buchanan Zach Bauchou Nos. 121-130 Bryan Lee (a) Jinichiro Kozuma Joakim Lagergren Justin Hastings (a) Lance Simpson (a) Evan Beck (a) Matt Vogt (a) Philip Barbaree Riley Lewis Tyler Weaver (a) Nos. 131-140 Frankie Harris (a) Brady Calkins Zachery Pollo (a) Cameron Tankersley (a) Emilio Gonzalez Harrison Ott Noah Kent (a) Roberto Diaz Austen Truslow Alistair Docherty Nos. 141-156 Yuta Sugiura Chandler Blanchet Mason Howell (a) James Hahn George Duangmanee Joey Herrera George Kneiser Justin Hicks Grant Haefner Trevor Gutschewski (a)
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
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