One day before teeing it up at the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Championship – his last tournament before joining the PGA TOUR – Scottie Scheffler drove a golf cart around a fescue-laden Victoria National Golf Club and answered rapid-fire questions for a Korn Ferry Tour YouTube video. Scheffler riffed on topics ranging from his shoe size – he had changed it two weeks prior due to blisters – to fruit, TV shows and haircuts.

Scheffler waved to his fellow pros along the ride and answered questions in a casual yet deadpan fashion. Then, on the final question, Scheffler grew profound.

“What’s the best part of life?” he was asked.

“Life’s important to spend with people that you enjoy,” Scheffler responded. “If you don’t have a few quality close friends, I don’t think whatever you’re doing is worth it, because you want to be able to enjoy it with somebody. Find something that you enjoy doing, and that you’re able to enjoy doing with other people.”

Three weeks prior, a scene played out that epitomized Scheffler’s sentiment. At the time, 25 PGA TOUR cards were available via the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season, which concluded at the WinCo Foods Portland Open at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon. Scheffler was on his way to a PGA TOUR card, entering the week at No. 3 on the season-long standings, but the fate of his childhood friend Vince Whaley was undetermined. Whaley entered the week at No. 22 on the standings and missed the cut at Pumpkin Ridge, as did Scheffler.

The two had developed a bond through nearly two decades of friendship and competitive junior and amateur golf on the Texas circuit. In contrast to the typical cadence after a missed cut – getting the heck out of dodge – neither player intended to skip town, knowing the magnitude of the PGA TOUR card ceremony, akin to a high school graduation and a life memory for #TOURBound pros. Whaley was faced with a nerve-wracking weekend of crunching numbers, and Scheffler recognized this. After an uneasy Saturday around the hotel room, Scheffler suggested they play golf Sunday morning. So they teed it up at Pumpkin Ridge’s Ghost Creek course (sister track to event host Witch Hollow) and had a few beverages. Scheffler’s parents, Scott Sr. and Diane, also tagged along for the excursion, walking all 18 holes with the duo.

As it turned out, the numbers broke in Whaley’s favor. He took the 25th spot on the standings, earning the right to join Scheffler on the PGA TOUR in 2020. The longtime friends celebrated at the card ceremony amidst the towering Oregon pines, enjoyed a light beer and some laughs, and filmed a #TOURBound selfie video together.

Scheffler was amidst a banner 2019 Korn Ferry Tour campaign; he eventually finished atop the season-long standings with 10 top-10 finishes in 20 starts, including two victories, and was named Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year in a vote of his peers. Less than six years later, he stands a comfortable No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking as a 13-time PGA TOUR winner, including two major championships and Paris Olympic gold. His otherworldly ball-striking, footwork, and work-life balance are among traits that have become well-known to golf fans globally.

Professionally speaking, these traits became first evident on the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour. Amidst a competitive coronation, Scheffler was more concerned for a longtime friend.

“Saturday, I sat in my hotel room and was doing numbers on my little notepad, trying to figure it out, and I was talking to Scottie, and he was like, ‘We’ve got to get you out of this hotel room,’ and we made plans to go play the next day,” Whaley remembered. “It was a lot of fun. Once we get out there and start drinking and getting after it, I stopped looking at my phone.

“He was just trying to distract me, and it worked.”

What made the 2019 season special: There was no guarantee it would pan out, neither for Scheffler nor for those around him. The Korn Ferry Tour is uber-competitive, with dozens of players vying for limited TOUR cards. You need consistent high finishes to become #TOURBound.

“I always knew Scottie could be successful if he could get to the PGA TOUR,” Scheffler Sr. said last fall. “I didn’t know if he could get through the Korn Ferry Tour.”

The elder Scheffler needn’t have worried.

How he got there

Scheffler graduated from the University of Texas in spring 2018, before the launch of the PGA TOUR University Ranking that offers direct access to various levels of TOUR-sanctioned competition, including the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Americas. Upon graduation, he hit the road on the Monday qualifying circuit with limited success as he readied for the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (from 2013 to 2022, PGA TOUR cards were not offered at Q-School).

Scheffler advanced through First Stage in Garland, Texas – playing the first two rounds alongside Tony Romo, longtime QB for his beloved Dallas Cowboys – but it wasn’t stress-free. Scheffler was 8-under total with 12 holes remaining in the final round, three strokes off the eventual cut line, but he went 7-under for those 12 holes to finish four strokes inside the cut line.

A month later, he teed it up at Second Stage in Mobile, Alabama, and carded rounds of 66-66-70-66 to again advance with four strokes to spare. It was his gateway into the PGA TOUR system – he clinched conditional Korn Ferry Tour membership at minimum for 2019, and he headed to Final Stage at Whirlwind Golf Club outside Phoenix, eyeing a set schedule for his first full year as a pro.

It was a birdie bonanza in Arizona, and Scheffler stood 18-under as he reached the week’s final hole, in a logjam of players tied for 34th. The top 40 and ties earned guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, and Scheffler needed a closing par to cement a playing schedule. Scheffler missed the green short and right at the par-4 18th, leaving a nervy, slippery chip shot. He executed it to perfection, the ball landing just past the fringe and releasing some 20 feet toward the cup, leaving a tap-in par. Then he unleashed a fist pump rarely seen in even his biggest moments on the course (aside from the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup). Scheffler knew what it meant, then and now.

“I'll always remember that time,” Scheffler said years later. “There's more pressure when you're fighting for your career. There's less pressure now where I've had some success now. I would say there's more pressure going into the final round of Q-School than there is Masters Sunday because, if I fail at Q-School, I've got a whole ‘nother year where I don't have anywhere to play.

“Those things don't change. I look back on those because I performed under like the most immense pressure that I could have had, and now that I'm out here, not that there's less on the line, but it's simple. I'm just trying to stay in the moment and execute shots.”

Seven months after earning a bachelor’s degree in finance, Scheffler had secured a job in professional golf. Through his clutch play at Q-School, he cemented the belief in himself that he had the gumption to compete at this level. It’s a cliché sentiment, but it rings true here: he never looked back.

Otherworldly skill

Scheffler authored several memorable rounds throughout the 2019 season, in which he ranked inside the top 15 statistically in Total Driving, Greens in Regulation and Putting Average. There was the final-round 63 at the NV5 Invitational, as part of a six-stroke comeback and eventual playoff victory over Marcelo Rozo. There was the final-round 64 at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, three weeks prior, forcing a playoff in which he fell to Robby Shelton.

Mark Hubbard played alongside Scheffler that Sunday in Nashville, and the veteran pro knew what he saw.

“I didn’t know anything about his game or his past history or anything about him, and I think a lot of that is because he’s such a humble dude,” Hubbard said, “but in contrast, I vividly remember that round, because I was just so impressed. I didn’t know anything about him before that round, and I very quickly learned.

“It’s so mistake-free … I remember just being like, ‘Wow, this guy just doesn’t ever mess up.’ Everybody looks good when they shoot 64, but it was just something different, because it was just the most ho-hum 64, which he does pretty frequently nowadays.”

Beyond the scorecard, Scheffler’s 2019 Korn Ferry Tour peers were quick with sharp anecdotes that highlighted how he differentiated from the rest. He was PGA TOUR-ready, beyond a shadow of doubt.

For Jonathan Randolph, it was the clock and the clubs.

Randolph recalled a round at the same event in Nashville, playing alongside fellow veteran Scott Harrington and Scheffler, where neither Randolph nor Harrington could find a rhythm. Hence, they fell behind pace and were approached by a rules official, who relayed that they were being put on the clock.

The catch: Scheffler, amidst a typical Scheffler fairways-and-greens round, would not be put on the clock. Randolph had never seen this before. It was instructive of Scheffler’s quickly growing reputation, an understanding that he was on a different plane than the rest.

Scheffler played the 2019 season without an equipment contract, memorably winning the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in central Ohio with his 14 clubs comprising seven different brands. It’s hard for a young Korn Ferry Tour pro to pass up guaranteed money – which could fund travel expenses, caddie fees and the like – but Scheffler bet on himself, knowing that playing the most comfortable clubs would yield the desired competitive results. One such club was a Nike VR Pro Limited 3-wood, which he has since decommissioned, but produced a highlight reel throughout the 2019 season.

“When you play with seven different brands of clubs, it just shows that you’re doing what’s best for you, and you’re getting the most out of it, especially for a young guy,” Randolph said. “The younger you are, typically the more money the club companies will pay you, especially if you’re potentially going to be a superstar. So for him to say, 'I’m betting on me to make a lot of money on the golf course by using all these clubs...' He’s really good for a reason, he’s always believed in himself, and it obviously shows.

“There was something about him that just seemed kind of raw, but then when he got in between the tee markers … it was inevitable that he was going to play really, really well that year.”

For Dan McCarthy, it was the bunker shot.

The veteran pro earned his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the 2019 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club, playing the final round alongside Scheffler and outlasting the future world No. 1 by a stroke. McCarthy calls it the biggest win of his career and uses it as a pick-me-up when things aren’t going well.

That day included a heart-stopping moment on the 72nd hole. McCarthy, led by one to the par-5 18th hole, laid up and wedged to 12 feet, while Scheffler went for the green in two but missed into a greenside bunker right – up against the lip, and short-sided.

“I think we’re good here,” McCarthy thought to himself.

Then Scheffler pulled a rabbit out of his hat, nearly holing the bunker blast before it rolled 7 feet by.

“Just the most miraculous bunker shot,” McCarthy said. “So many things went through my head after he hit that shot. I went from thinking he was out of it, we were good … to, ‘I better make this now to win.’”

McCarthy’s birdie try slid by, but Scheffler couldn’t convert either. McCarthy won by a stroke.

“He seemed genuinely happy for me,” McCarthy recalled last fall.

For Cody Blick, it was the driver off the deck.

It was Scheffler’s Korn Ferry Tour debut, the 2019 Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, and he was paired alongside Blick for the first two rounds. Five years later, Blick’s mind quickly darted back to the 603-yard par-5 ninth hole in the opening round. Most players would hit driver off the tee, pushing it up the furthest part of the fairway for a chance to reach the green in two. Scheffler played a chess game of sorts, hitting 2-iron off the tee and then unleashing a driver-off-the-deck for his second shot, reaching the green in two.

“I remember just thinking, ‘That’s special,’” Blick said.

It was a testament to Scheffler’s creative knack for shot-making that has since gripped the golf world.

“I knew he was going to be an unbelievable player,” Blick said. “Everybody knew it back then. But we maybe didn’t think he was going to be this good.”

Outside the ropes

Throughout the season, Scheffler shared a six-bedroom house outside Dallas, with roommates including fellow touring pros Max McGreevy, Grant Hirschman and Charlie Saxon. The house was dubbed the “Dirty Meadow.” The housemates were rarely home together – Hirschman and Saxon were out with Scheffler on the Korn Ferry Tour, while McGreevy was competing overseas on PGA TOUR China. Their time together always made for eclectic conversation, though – during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic hiatus, they’d discuss random hypothetical questions around the coffee table. (One example: “To live in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, for a year, how much money would you need?”)

There were unforeseen perks of their living accommodations as well. At times, Scheffler’s dad and sisters would visit and help with yardwork (e.g., cutting down tree limbs) while the housemates relaxed inside.

“We would be bad that the guys are sitting inside while all the girls are doing all the hard work,” McGreevy quipped last fall.

“It was quite the experience,” continued McGreevy, who finished No. 2 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List to rejoin Scheffler on the PGA TOUR for 2025. “Him and Meredith would order a family-sized meal from Las Palmas or Mi Cocina (Mexican restaurants) or something like that and just bring it back home; all seven or eight of us would eat.

“He was great and super helpful in all facets of either life or the game. He’s super proud of all of us, just like we are of him.”

Scheffler roomed with Whaley at the 2019 season opener in the Bahamas, a frequent lodging arrangement throughout the season. They spent some time on the beach in Exuma; at one point, Scheffler challenged a local beachgoer to an impromptu race. Later in the spring, they stayed together in Panama and concurrently overcame a stomach bug.

“Shared a bathroom for about a week, just dying together in there,” Whaley said.

The vibes were much higher at Pumpkin Ridge as the Regular Season reached a crescendo. The friendship between Scheffler and Whaley – which stems from Dallas-area junior golf – came full circle on that Sunday in Oregon as they earned their TOUR cards together.

“The first time I played with him, he was just a terrible player,” Whaley said, recalling an early round at age 6 or 7. “He had just picked it up, just waxed him. I think we played again maybe six months later, and he’s just suddenly really good, and it doesn’t seem like it ever slowed down.”

Scheffler certainly didn’t slow down in 2019. He earned his second Korn Ferry Tour title at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, the first event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals (which finalized position on the PGA TOUR Priority Ranking). Scheffler outlasted three players by two shots at the Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course, one of the circuit’s most demanding venues (and where Justin Thomas earned his first TOUR-sanctioned title five years prior). Scheffler carded a final-round 67 from the penultimate grouping and was informed while signing autographs that his victory was official. He responded in quintessential, understated Scheffler fashion: “Yay!”

After fulfilling his media obligations, posing with the trophy (and dozens of kids), and delivering a winner’s speech, Scheffler could have gracefully departed the premises. But he had something else in mind – he visited the rules office, eagerly recounting key moments during the final round and reminiscing on the season overall. From the rules office, he attempted to book a flight back to Dallas for that evening but was unable to do so. Scheffler spent probably an hour with the rules staff, as longtime Korn Ferry Tour rules official Rich Pierson estimated. It was a microcosm of Scheffler’s eagerness to connect with others, serving as a parallel to his final comments from that YouTube video, recorded when he was barely known to the sports world at large.

Life, then and now, is about each other.

“I definitely stand by that statement,” Scheffler said five years later. “It seems like you think my life would have changed a lot, but it really only has changed out here … at home, no. We still have the same friends, still have a great support system.

“Winning is fun, but it only lasts a few seconds or a few minutes,” he continued. “But when you get home and you get to celebrate with people and those that we're closest to, those really are the most special times.”

PGA TOUR’s Jimmy Reinman contributed to this report