The only eligible player who won’t be on next week’s field? Number 1 in the world
The PGA Tour’s sixth signature event, the Wells Fargo Championship, begins Thursday. World number 1 Scottie Scheffler is not on the field.
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During Masters week, and again at RBC Heritage, there was a running joke around the venue and on TV broadcasts: the only person who could stop Scottie Scheffler was his wife, Meredith.
Of course you already know this plot. Scheffler and his wife are expecting their first child, and in his last two starts (Augusta National and Harbor Town) he said he would leave if Meredith, who did not travel to either event and was at home in Dallas, Texas, showed any signs of going into labor.
But that never happened, Scheffler won both tournaments and further staked his claim as the world’s No. 1 golfer. The gap between Scheffler and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy in the Official World Golf Ranking also continues to widen, similar to the gap we saw when Tiger Woods was at his peak.
However, this potential last-minute tournament exit storyline isn’t something we’ll hear next week, when the PGA Tour’s sixth major signature event begins at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C. Scheffler is the only eligible player no in the field.
Although it shouldn’t be a big surprise at this point. Scheffler didn’t play this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson in the northern suburbs of Dallas, not far from his home, so of course he wouldn’t be traveling to Quail Hollow, North Carolina, as Baby Watch neared its end.
However, it will certainly shake up the pre-tournament odds. Scheffler was a lopsided favorite to win the Masters and RBC Heritage, but without him the playing field should be more even for oddsmakers.
Tour professionals shouldn’t be bothered by his absence either. Scheffler has won four of his last five matches, and in the only one he didn’t win – the Texas Children’s Houston Open – he tied for second, missing a putt on the last hole that would have forced a playoff.
“I was talking to Meredith on the phone last night, and we were both like, I don’t think it’s officially occurred to us yet that we’re going to be parents,” Scheffler said on April 22, in his post-win press conference at the RBC Heritage. “I will definitely lean on my parents for a lot of advice. They did a great job raising me and my three sisters.
“They are still a big part of our lives. This will be their second grandchild and they will have a third on the way soon after. My sister is also pregnant. It’s an exciting time for Meredith and me. It’s an exciting time for the rest of our family. We look forward to this next journey in our lives together.”
It’s unclear when Scheffler will be able to play next. The week after Wells Fargo is the second major of the year, the PGA Championship, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, from May 16th to 19th.
