Everyone was waiting for the announcement. Scottie Scheffler’s not coming to Harbour Town.
It was in the back of the collective minds of Plaid Nation all weekend, seeming even more certain with every birdie putt that dropped en route to a second green jacket and every mention of his pregnant wife, Meredith, who was at home in Texas awaiting the couple’s first child.
The announcement never came, but Scheffler did, arriving Tuesday evening to make his second start at the RBC Heritage presented by Boeing along with virtually everyone chasing him for the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings.
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The undisputed best golfer in the world at the moment, Scheffler played in Wednesday’s RBC Heritage Pro-Am, then appeared before the media to recount the whirlwind that was Sunday turning into Monday and how he spent the next two days relaxing at home with Meredith.
Was he tempted to stay put?
“Not really,” Scheffler said. “I made a commitment to this tournament. I like coming here and playing the golf course. Yeah, I’m a bit tired right now, but I’ve got all afternoon today to continue to rest and get ready for the week.”
And he’s not just here for the vacation, either. With wins in three of his last four PGA Tour starts, Scheffler is in the midst of a world-class heater, and he’s got a chance to add some serious cushion to his bank account and his place atop the FedEx Cup standings, though both are quite secure. Scheffler has earned north of $57.6 million since joining the tour in 2020 — including more than $15 million in nine events this season, and you and I are closer in the FedEx Cup standings to second-place Wyndham Clark (1,550 points) than Clark is to Scheffler (3,215).
When that man crossed the Bowers Bridge, he wasn’t coming to ride bikes or hang out at the beach.
“And I’m not showing up here just to walk around and play a little golf,” Scheffler told the assembled media Wednesday. “I left my pregnant wife at home to come here and play in a golf tournament. I am here to play and hopefully play well. I’m not here just for fun.”
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It figures to be the last business trip for a bit. This is the last event on Scheffler’s schedule before shutting it down to head home and prepare for a much bigger event.
The reporting from Augusta last week led us to believe Meredith’s water could break at any moment and leave Scheffler shuffling off and leaving the green jacket behind for someone else to claim — and that could have happened, and could happen this week — but the big moment may not be as imminent as it seemed from CBS Sports’ perspective.
“Nothing yet. That’s why last week I felt like the story got blown up a bit too much,” Scheffler said. “That’s why I feel like I don’t really talk about my personal life very much just because then I have to answer questions in here about it. It’s just a bit different. But yeah, no signs. No signs of early labor anything like that. But she’s feeling good. Very tired but feeling good, and I’m sure she’s probably getting pretty close to having that baby.”
The due date comes at the end of April, so Scheffler plans on squeezing in one more week of work and hopes to keep striking hot iron.
After that? Every parent can relate.
“I don’t know what life looks like,” Scheffler said. “But up until when the baby comes, I’m going to play this week and then I’ll go home and basically just wait. We’re due at the end of the month. We’ll see when the baby comes.
“I don’t know. Like I said last week, golf now is — it never was my top priority, but I do love competing, and I put in the work. It’s going to take another notch down in priority when our child comes.”
