World number one Scottie Scheffler said he was “as ready as possible” for this week’s US PGA Championship after celebrating the birth of his first child with his wife, Meredith.
Scheffler, 27, continued practicing this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, after welcoming son Bennett on May 8.
His participation in the tournament was in doubt due to the lack of public confirmation of the birth of his son, but he is now ready to go.
“If anyone has diaper advice, I could use that,” Scheffler joked to Golf Channel.
“I had high expectations for what [being a father] would feel like, and they were far exceeded. I thought it would be pretty amazing, and it feels pretty amazing.”
Scheffler trained at Valhalla aiming to win the third major title of his career. Before his Masters victory at Augusta National in April, Meredith stayed at their home in Texas and Scheffler celebrated the birth of his son from a distance.
Scheffler said his preparations for the second major golf tournament of the season are “pretty good” despite being away from the course for three weeks to spend time with his family.
Scheffler said, “It took a little longer than expected to arrive, but I managed to do some good prep work. Obviously, having him born in the middle of last week isn’t the usual; I had more significant prep time than I would have, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Ted Scott, who has been present for all 10 of Scheffler’s PGA Tour victories, is expected to return in time for Sunday’s final round after attending his daughter’s high school graduation.
“What we talked about from the beginning of our relationship was that family always comes first, and that’s the same thing for me as it is for my assistant,” Scheffler said. he added.
“I want to be as prepared as possible in an event, and standing here today I feel like I am as prepared as possible. I feel like my game is in a good place and I’m looking forward to competing this weekend.”