Golf: Golf-Scheffler only ever wanted to play golf but says the sport does not define him

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Scottie Scheffler says golf is just something he does but will not define him even though the world number one is doing it better than anyone else.

Unassuming and thoughtful, Scheffler is more than the sum of pars, birdies and bogeys on his scorecard but coming into this week’s Masters he has been the definition of golfing excellence.

With back-to-back wins at the Arnold Palmer and Players Championship and a runner-up finish at the Houston Open, Scheffler is hot favourite to slip into the Green Jacket on Sunday, which would add to his reputation as a golfing machine.

“Golf’s something that I do,” said the 27-year-old at his pre-Masters press conference on Tuesday. “It’s a tremendously huge part of my life but it doesn’t define me as a person.

“It’s just something that I do.

“I happen to be good at it some weeks and I come in here and you guys ask all nice questions then the next week I’m bad at it and then some of the questions are viewed more negatively.

“That’s just kind of the ebb and flow of competing in front of people all the time.”

Asked what defines him Scheffler paused for a moment and said his faith but could also not imagine life without golf.

While the 2022 Masters champion says he was never pushed into the sport, he cannot remember a time when he did not want to be a golfer.

GOLFING AMBITION

“My dad never really looked at me as a golfer,” said Scheffler. “He never pushed me to become a good golfer, that was never what he wanted for me.

“My parents pushed more education and being kind to people on me.

“The way I was raised, golf wasn’t really a huge deal in my house. It was just something that I always loved to do.

“Golf was always the goal for me. I always wanted to play golf.

“I grew up wearing long pants to go practise at the golf course because that’s what I saw the pros doing on TV and I wanted to be one of those professional golfers.”

Asked what he could do if not play golf Scheffler had no answer.

He believes deep down he possesses skills beyond hitting a golf ball but hopes he never has to find out what they are.

“I would like to think I have some other skills,” said Scheffler. “But hopefully I don’t have to discover them for quite some time.

“Hopefully, I’ll be out here playing for a long time.”

(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)