Scottie Scheffler's Absence Will Ring Through the Course at Any Golf Championship

Whenever there’s a tournament of any kind, we expect the best of the best to take part. In the world of golf, Scottie Scheffler is one of the best. With two Masters wins under his belt and ranked number one in the world as of March 2022, Scottie is swiftly making golf history.

However, earlier in May 2024, Scottie was arrested for what was later “a big misunderstanding” at a traffic stop. And after he finished as runner-up in the Charles Schwab Challenge, fans are wondering if he’s playing this weekend (the weekend of June 1, 2024) in the RBC Canadian Open.

While Scottie is one of the most active golfers in the world as he holds his rank as number one, he doesn’t necessarily have to play in every major tournament. 2024 has been a huge year for him. From winning the Masters Tournament, placing in the Top 10 of the PGA Championship, winning the RBC Heritage, the Players Championship, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he has quite a successful record.

But on top of his many golf successes, Scottie made headlines when he was briefly arrested in mid-May 2024. Just before that on May 8, he and his wife, Meredith Scheffler, welcomed their first child, a baby boy. He took off a few weeks to spend time at home with his family, but their son came later than expected, so he was scheduled to compete in the PGA Championship.

Since then, however, Scottie has put his family first, so it makes sense that he would take off during the RBC Canadian Open to focus on spending time with them. Because the Open isn’t one of the biggest golf tournaments, it might not be as mandatory for him to compete and hold onto his title as the world’s number-one golfer.

Ahead of the PGA Championship, Scottie spoke about what it felt like to become a father during a press conference. "I think it's just wild watching Meredith go through that," Scheffler said (via PGA Tour). "It's just nuts. I don't really know how to describe it, watching the little dude come out of Meredith, and we waited, and it was a surprise for us whether it was going to be a boy or girl."

“So being able to tell my wife that it was a boy, yeah, it was a wild ride. Extremely proud of Meredith after watching her go through that. It's nuts. I'm glad it was her going through it and not me because I don't know if I could have done it. It was pretty nuts. Extremely proud of her, and the look on her face right after birth, she was just glowing, so proud of herself and so excited to have our little boy.”

Scottie added, “We're very fortunate to be in this position with a healthy mom and a healthy baby." But he also realized that having a son might mean it’s time to slow down a bit in his career, which may point to his absence at the RBC Canadian Open. “I may win a lot of major championships, I may be stuck at two the rest of my career," he said.

“At home it was a nice time to reflect a little bit on my career so far and where my life has gone. I married my high school sweetheart and I always wanted to play professional golf and now I'm here. I was sitting there with a newborn in my arms and the green jacket in the closet. It was a pretty special time, I think, at home.” While the public was told he’ll be absent for “unspecified reasons,” perhaps his time of reflection, holding his newborn, could be part of those reasons.