On the final Sunday of the 2024 Masters, Scottie Scheffler carried the heaviest expectations in golf. He was the world No. 1, chasing his second green jacket in three years at Augusta National, with millions watching to see whether he would hold his lead.
That morning, before he reached the first tee, his friends gave him a reminder that had nothing to do with golf. "My buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the cross," Scheffler told reporters afterward. Whatever the leaderboard said by sunset, the outcome that mattered most had already been settled by Jesus.
Scheffler went on to win by four strokes, finishing 11 under par ahead of Ludvig Aberg. Then, with the sports world's full attention on him, he pointed away from himself. "It doesn't matter whether or not I win this tournament or if I lose this tournament, my identity is secure for forever," he said.
He was honest about the tension inside him, too. "I wish that I didn't want to win as badly as I did," he admitted. "I love winning. I hate losing." That honesty is what gives the testimony its weight: here is one of the fiercest competitors in sport, whose deepest security rests somewhere golf can never touch. "I have been given a gift of this talent," he said. "I've been called to come out here, do my best, compete and glorify God."
The peace he played with that day had been prayed for. His wife, Meredith, prays for exactly that whenever he competes. "I want to feel peace and have fun and I want to feel his presence," Scheffler said of God's Presence on the course. Before the tournament, Meredith told him that win or lose, "Jesus loves you, and nothing changes."
The faith runs far deeper than a winner's press conference. Away from the cameras, Scheffler studies the Bible with his caddie Ted Scott, whom he chose partly because they share the same convictions, and he helps host an annual College Golf Fellowship retreat with fellow pro Sam Burns.
Scheffler's story carries a quiet invitation. If the best golfer in the world rests his whole worth on what Jesus finished at the cross, that same security is offered to anyone. This week's wins and losses do not decide who you are. Christ already has.