Golfer Scottie Scheffler took home the green jacket when he won the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, on Sunday — but he made clear beforehand that he was ready to forgo the possibility of that victory entirely if his wife, Meredith, went into labor with their first child. As the tournament progressed, Scheffler was adamant that he would withdraw if Meredith, who is nine months pregnant, went into labor at any point.
“I think the first child wins … over many things in my life,” he said. “Maybe I should be more concerned. I don’t really know. People have asked us how our preparation is going for the baby. I feel like we are a little underprepared. The nursery is not quite ready and we’ve had some issues at our house the last few weeks. I think that’s the exciting part. I think we are definitely underprepared to be parents.”
Though he said he didn’t believe it was likely that the baby would come in the middle of the tournament, he was ready to go home at a moment’s notice.
“As far as her going into labor, I wouldn’t say I’m very concerned. We haven’t seen any of the early signs,” he explained. “But pregnancy is weird. It can happen at any time. Yeah, open lines of communication and she can get ahold of me if she needs to. I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice.” He also told reporters he had someone standing nearby with a cell phone during tournament play, and he had a way to get home “pretty quickly.”
A new green jacket and a soon-to-be new dad 🥹 pic.twitter.com/LVimJK8JdB
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 15, 2024
Scheffler also had sweet words about the absence of his wife, who usually is by his side during tournament play.
“She’s obviously my biggest supporter, and I definitely miss having her here,” he said. “But it’s an exciting time for us in our lives, and yeah, fortunately, she’s still at home and feeling good, so we are grateful for that.”
In the end, Meredith did not go into labor, and Scheffler was able to golf his way to a victory.
“I can’t put into words what it means to win this tournament again and I really can’t put it into words what it is going to be like to be a father for the first time,” he said Sunday afternoon. “I’m looking forward to getting home and celebrate with Meredith. It has been a long week here without her.”