Scottie Scheffler‘s journey really began at the Bergen Community College golf course in New Jersey. When he and his siblings were growing up, their father, Scott, used to take them there at night to practice. He used to hold a flashlight while his kids played, but they were repeatedly chased away by the police until someone from the course relented after watching their game. That trouble is just one of the many sacrifices Scott Scheffler has taken before his son could achieve the success he has today.

“I remember there was one specific tournament growing up, where I went to go play in an AJGA qualifier,” Scheffler told the media. “My dad said, ‘You can play in the qualifier as long as you promise to not play in the tournament.’ Because at the time, you had to qualify for the tournaments, but you could use it somewhere else. The qualifier was a couple hours from my house, so we could get there, and I could play the qualifier.”

Scottie had an established career in the AJGA. He was quite a skilled golfer at an early age and earned his exemption in the American amateur circuit before 2011. That’s the year he also won the 2011 Legends Junior Match Play Championship. However, Scott Scheffler couldn’t afford to take him to events two hours away from their home in Dallas, Texas, often.

But Scott had a very good reason to deny his only son this early opportunity, who was 12 then. That’s because he also had to take care of the world #1’s siblings.

“He had other stuff going on, like with my sisters. There was something important for my sisters going on, so he was like, ‘You can’t play in the tournament because we have this.’ Like, ‘I can’t bring you to the city where it is.'”

Scottie has three sisters: Callie, who is the only one older than him, Molly, and Sara, the youngest of the bunch. Having four kids at home, neither Scott nor their mother, Diane, could afford to put so much into helping him pursue golf. However, Scottie chose to compete in the tournament after qualifying, which his father had agreed to after some time.

“I called him after the tournament,” Scottie added. “Because the tournament ended, everything’s cleaned up, and he’s not going to be back for another hour or two. So I’m just out practicing after the tournament. I called him… I told him what I shot, finished fifth. Now I’m fully exempt. We don’t have to worry about the qualifiers anymore. He’s like, ‘Okay, great. I’ll be there in a couple of hours.'”

Listening to his gut feeling, Scottie Scheffler proved his dad’s fears wrong. He was not very happy about the fact that a 12-year-old Scottie was all alone there, and that he had risked his chances by choosing not to use the qualifying result for the future. But it all worked out at the end. Now, Scheffler’s parents’ attitude towards their son’s golf exploits has changed. And they don’t mind being on the road to follow his journey.

Scottie Scheffler’s parents let him do his thing

A parent has got to let kids find their way to success themselves on their own; they’re only there to guide them along. The hard work, the decision-making, all of that has to be done by the child, which would only help them do better in life. That’s exactly what Scottie Scheffler’s parents did with him. They let golf be his arena.

Scottie revealed that his father had been instructed by his coach, Randy Smith, that he did not need to hang back to watch his son. Because when he hit the golf course, Scottie was doing “his thing.” The onus was on him to become the golfer that he is today, not Scott. When Scottie practiced, his father was just the watchful parent. He and Diane were not overbearingly involved with his golf development, which helped. His mother also had one rule for him while growing up.

“She never asked me what I shot,” Scheffler said. “She said, ‘If you want me to know what you shot, you’ll tell me.'”

Today, their sacrifices have paid off. At the Aronimink this week, he’s planning to end a streak of near-misses and continue defending the title of the reigning PGA Champion. It won’t be easy, but this man has proved to us time and again that he is a winner.