“The guy’s relentless” said Sepp Straka, post his stellar third finish at 2025 The Memorial. The lucrative Jack Nicklaus signature event, hosted at Muirfield village, saw some of the best golfers in the world battle it out on Sunday for the $20 million prize pot. And to no one’s surprise, Scottie Scheffler took home the handsome payout of $4 million, home. Coming fresh off a few days at the Charles Schwab Challenge where he finished tied 4th, Scheffler’s win at The Memorial is his third victory in the last four starts on the PGA Tour. And this is the guy that Straka was talking about.

Given Scheffler’s incredible performances in the 2024 season where he captured seven PGA Tour titles, including the Masters, The Players, the Tour Championship and four signature events, Straka’s comment comes as no surprise as Scheffler is indeed relentless. And after creating history at the Memorial, it makes us wonder about what makes Scottie Scheffler so good that has us hooked on to him, an emotion only similar to Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods’ victories?

How staying in the present has helped Scheffler become the player he is

Scheffler’s start to the 2025 season was slow, but his first win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May set the pace for him, as he followed it up with a victory at the PGA Championship. Not only is he the first player after Tiger Woods to hold the #1 spot for so long (141 weeks since 2022), he also created history at The Memorial on Sunday, by winning it back-to-back. A feat that only Woods pulled off when he won it consecutively from 1999-2001. With a score of 10-under 278 over 72 holes, his performances are now being compared to the likes of Nicklaus merely because of the way he wears down the field without getting out of position.

While addressing a press conference post his win on Sunday, he recalled an important advice from his then college coach, John Fields, whom he met when he went to college at University of Texas. Addressing a question on the ‘importance of staying in the present,’ Scheffler stated that it was his coach who introduced him to the concept. “Well, my college coach, Coach Fields was kind of the first person that introduced that concept to me. When I first got to college I was trying to date this girl whose name was Meredith, and I would come out to the course and if she shot me a text or gave me a phone call I would pick it up. I was still trying to woo her at that point. And I would get a little distracted when it came to practicing,” Scheffler replied, recalling the time when he was trying to woo his current wife, Meredith, during his college days. Him being distracted at practice, eventually caught the attention of his coach and then came advice that served as a wake-up call to him.

His coach sat him down one say and said — “Hey listen, when you’re at the golf course you need to be focused on what you’re doing at the golf course. When you’re in class you need to be paying attention in class. And he’s like, when you get to do your social stuff you need to be present where you are.” And this is when things started to change for Scheffler. He realized that by being present at what he’s doing and being in the moment is a better way to enjoy his life and also helps him keep his focus on the golf course. He continued to add, “If I can be present where I am – like if I’m at home thinking about golf, am I going to be fully enjoying the time I get to spend with Meredith and Bennett? Probably not. And if I’m at the golf course thinking about being at home, I’m probably not going to be focused in my practice, not going to get the most out of it.”

Being a professional athlete, at the level where Scheffler is, is definitely not easy. It’s a constant juggle between the sport, family life and social interactions. And golf being a demanding sport where you need to be focused on for hours, its a daily struggle for players to keep their head in the game. “So I think it’s a daily battle to try and focus on the task at hand, and I think it’s a bit of a kind of a living life to the fullest type of thing. I think when you’re thinking about what you’re doing, I think that’s when you’re living,” the world number 1 continued to add. This reflection captures the essence of mindfulness and a quality that only elite athletes, like Scottie Scheffler, portray through their performances. While this is something he has practiced over the years, and still does, Scheffler also believes that patience is another quality to have if you want to see results.

Scottie Scheffler’s final round at the Memorial

With the Memorial win adding to his tally of 16 wins in his career, Scheffler reflected on his final and his week’s performance that helped him claim the four shot victory over Ben Griffin. Comparing golf to other sports where you can use brute force to win your way, he emphasized on how you really have to be patient in golf and you have to let the rounds come to you — “In golf you can’t do that. You can will yourself to hit and execute the right way, but you can’t force the ball to go into the hole.” And this is a s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 that did not come naturally to him, but something that he improved with time. And the patience really reflected in his game this week, where he started slow but steady shooting 70 in the first two rounds. But that did not let his competitiveness fade, “He loves competition, and he doesn’t like giving up shots,” Jordan Speith said when asked about Scottie Scheffler’s performance.

The third round saw Scheffler shoot a 4-under 68, a flawless scorecard and take over the lead from Ben Griffin, who shot an incredible 7-under 65 on the first day. With only a shot difference between the two heading into Sunday, the win was inevitable for Scheffler after his quick development on the back nine. Scheffler almost went bogey-free for 32 holes until he dropped a shot at the 10th. But despite too much spin on his shot irons, he finished the round with 2 birdies to recover from the dropped shot. His win only emulates his calm demeanor and the importance of a patient but steady approach to the game.