Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Scottie Scheffler is getting plenty of sleep and practice time for this week’s Masters, even with infant son Remy and his family at Augusta, although green jacket safety causes concern. World number one Scheffler, seeking his third Masters title in five years and fifth major victory overall, has not played the past three weeks with wife Meredith giving birth to son Remy on March 27.
Scheffler has enjoyed being a dad again after two-year-old Bennett, but he realizes he must set aside family life to focus on this week’s challenge at Augusta National. “Once you drive down Magnolia Lane, everything else melts away and you get to be here and be focused,” Scheffler said. “This place is almost a challenge in a sense that you need to be able to get your stuff done and go home because I could camp out on that range for days and days and continue to practice.”
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The 29-year-old American is the reigning British Open, PGA Championship, and Olympic champion and can compete for a career Grand Slam with a victory in June at the US Open. This week, his wife’s caretaking is nearly as crucial as anything a caddie could offer on the course. “I’m getting plenty of sleep. My wife is a trooper,” Scheffler said. “Having a newborn is always an interesting thing, but Remy is so young right now; they sleep a lot of the day. I think he’s used to being in the womb at this point. Yeah, I’ve been able to get a decent amount of sleep.”
Scheffler, however, has had to help out, as when he was wearing his green jacket on Sunday while holding Remy as he walked into the Augusta National clubhouse. “If I’m wearing it near him, I’m just hoping he doesn’t ruin it or anything like that,” Scheffler said. “Throw up on it. Who knows?”
It’s a battle for balance between life and work that has Scheffler concerned about keeping his private life private, especially for his children. “Sometimes I think it feels like we live almost two separate lives, where I have this life where I come out here and play and compete, and sometimes my friends are brought into that arena that I kind of live in,” Scheffler said. “I still feel like I go to work each day. It doesn’t feel like I’m sitting at a desk obviously. I love my job, but I don’t feel any different than I did when I was a kid.”
“So I don’t see why I would need to live any different or do anything like that. There’s no reason that my kids need to be on TV or on my Instagram or whatever it is. My kids need to have a normal upbringing, or as normal as I can, and we’ll go from there.”
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