AUGUSTA, Ga. — For the first time since 1994, both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will miss the Masters. Woods is said to be undergoing treatment and dealing with legal issues following his recent car accident. Mickelson is dealing with a “personal health issue.”
Golf has had plenty of time to adjust to a post-Tiger/Phil future, with new stars and new stories. None of the 50 would have been considered favorites to win here this week had they been able to pull it off.
Still, they would attract the biggest galleries and the loudest roars.
“Let’s be honest, without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in events, in the game of golf, when they both leave, I honestly feel like it hurts the game,” Patrick Reed said this week.
They are beautiful, sometimes chaotic and always uber competitive. They help drive the sport and certainly this tournament, more important than ever.
Now the biggest name and best player in golf, Scottie Scheffler, is something completely different.
Tiger and Phil, to varying degrees, brought a win-it-is-everything ethos to the game, complete with streaks and scandals. Scheffler appears to be a well-adjusted, soft-spoken, deeply religious family man from Texas.
This week he also talked about how he didn’t want winning and losing to define him. He mentioned that he doesn’t know how to use Instagram, explaining the temporary posting. On Wednesday, he walked through the crowds to the green, carrying his putter, alone, without any caddy, entourage or security. Maybe he thought no one would notice him.
He seemed more comfortable discussing his family — he and wife Meredith have Bennett, almost 2, and newborn Remy — than his golf game. Meredith, for example, manages wake-ups in the middle of the night to catch up on sleep, Masters week and all.
“My wife is a trouper,” Scheffler said.
He sounds like any old suburban dad; it’s just that being number 1 in the world for 186 consecutive weeks is 9 to 5.
“Sometimes I think it feels like we’re almost living two separate lives,” Scheffler said.
When it came to golf stars here, that used to mean something else.
Make no mistake, there is no lack of competition. At 29, he has won four majors, including blue jackets in 2022 and 2024. That doesn’t happen by accident.
Still, he’s loathe to stress it, let alone discuss it.
“I would say it’s always been a battle for me to try to balance between continuing to work hard, staying competitive, and not having myself — whether it’s my good golf or my bad golf — defines me because that can go two ways,” Scheffler said.
“If I let my bad golf define me, I’m going to be a very poor person. If I let my good golf define me, or the green jacket or the Open Championship, I’m going to be eating myself up all the time. And I’m not going to be very nice to people because I think I’m hot because I’ve won a few golf tournaments.”
The idea has entered. Fairness is good.
Golf is still very bright.
Perhaps Scheffler is what the game, if not society as a whole, needs right now. He is a champion who seeks something bigger than himself, who finds joy in praise and accomplishments. He may not bring the obvious electricity of the greats past, but anyone who doesn’t appreciate what he’s doing is missing the point.
He impresses by not trying to impress and exudes confidence by speaking politely. When it’s time to play, he’ll be completely focused. “Once you drive down Magnolia Lane,” he said, “everything else melts away.”
However, he vows not to let the final result define his week.
“A lot of times when you play golf, you’re probably going to be a little disappointed at the end of the week just because there’s only one winner, and there’s a lot more losers than that,” Scheffler noted.
Besides, being a parent will keep you humble.
“[Monday] night we were leaving the Nike party,” Scottie Schefler tried to dismiss Bennett. “And somehow he ended up with two sugar cookies and he hadn’t eaten his dinner yet. It was like, ‘Okay, buddy, if you eat these sausages, I’ll give you this cake.’ He’s like, ‘Cookie.’ I say, ‘if you eat this.’
He shrugged his shoulders.
“My friends are sitting there watching, ‘Yeah, I’ve seen this movie before,'” Scheffler said with a laugh.
It’s a new era in Augusta. New vibes, too.
