Scottie Scheffler won his second Master’s Tournament victory Sunday, but in a post-win news conference,
“You say constantly your identity is not in your golf scores,” Sean Martin, senior editor of PGA Tour, asked Scheffler. “What is it about winning and competing, then, that you find satisfying?”
“You know, that’s a really good question,” Scheffler replied. “I was sitting around with my buddies this morning. I was a bit overwhelmed, because, I told them, I was like, ‘I wish that I didn’t want to win as badly as I did.’ … I think it would make the mornings easier.
“But I love winning; I hate losing,” he continued. “I really do. And when you’re here in the biggest moments, when I’m sitting there with a lead on Sunday [the final day of the tournament], I really, really want to win badly.
“My buddies told me this morning, you know, my victory was secure on the cross, and that’s — that’s a pretty special feeling. To know that I’m secure forever, and it doesn’t matter, you know, whether I win this tournament or if I lose this tournament, you know, my identity is secure for forever.”
You can watch his comments below; it’s teed up — if you’ll pardon the expression — to Martin’s question, but Scheffler’s response to Martin was hardly the only reference to his faith the champion made during the media event, for example, when he said that he believed that “today’s plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans.”
Martin went on to write an article about Scheffler’s win in which he quoted that answer and, posting a link to the article on X, said that the winner had “all the shots and the ideal perspective.”
Whether you share Scheffler’s faith in Christ or don’t, there are some significant takeaways from the two-time champion’s statement.
Are you a fan of Scottie Scheffler?
For one thing, the man clearly has his priorities straight — but he doesn’t allow his faith in God’s sovereignty to lessen his sense of personal responsibility to make the most of the gifts God has given him.
Golf matters to him a great deal. He hates losing and loves winning, the way that the greatest competitors do in all arenas of life. But he knows his golf score will have no effect on his eternal destiny; that question was settled a couple of thousand years ago on the cross of Christ.
For another, Scheffler has surrounded himself with godly friends who support him and speak truth into his life when he needs to hear it.
I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but there is no biblical plan for a Christian life lived in isolation. If you are a believer, you are part of the body of Christ, and apart from that body you’re about as useful as an amputated leg. You need the body, and the body needs you — Paul was quite clear about that. (If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself here.)
Finally, Scheffler demonstrated another important principle from Scripture: Peter said that one of the ways we as believers “honor Christ the Lord as holy” is by “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Scheffler, when asked, didn’t hesitate to use his platform to express his faith in the cross of Christ to provide him with the ultimate victory, that over sin and death. No, he didn’t go into detail about it, nor did he give an apologetics lesson or an altar call — it was hardly the time or place for either — but “with gentleness and respect” he gave his answer.
But look, maybe you don’t share Scheffler’s faith. You’re hardly alone in that. But even if you don’t believe, his message is no less important for you. In fact, it may be just the opposite.
Remember what he said about the morning before the tournament: “My buddies told me this morning, you know, my victory was secure on the cross, and that’s — that’s a pretty special feeling. To know that I’m secure forever, and it doesn’t matter, you know, whether I win this tournament or if I lose this tournament, you know, my identity is secure for forever.”
Now, if you don’t believe in that, you can. Faith is a gift from God, so ask Him for the faith to believe in His Son, and He’ll give it to you. In fact, just asking Him for it in the first place is an act of faith: “for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
But even if you can’t bring yourself that far, you have to admit that the peace Scheffler describes in that single sentence sounds pretty good, right? And not only good, but increasingly rare in a world rocked with fear-mongering stories about economic turmoil, crime, illegal immigration, a looming World War III … and the list goes on.
Replacing some — or all — of your intake of news with intake of the Good News of God’s love for you will absolutely make a difference in how you spend eternity. But it also change dramatically how you experience life right here, right now, and all for the better.
