Scottie Scheffler has always been clear on where his priorities lie. Family comes first. At The Open Championship, he declared that he’d “rather be a great dad than a great golfer.” He even went on to say that if ever a situation were to arise where the game he loved so much were to come between him and his family, he’d walk away from the game. A case for prosecution or defense? Neither. But it’s on the docket anyway, even as Scheffler insists he won’t change a single thing.

During a recent interview with Pat McAfee, he reiterated this sentiment when the host posed him a few questions.

“Have you felt like, ‘hey, I am the face of the sport. I should talk a little bit more. Of, if you got just a bit more comfortable with the situation you ran in.” Scheffler didn’t blink twice to put forth his thoughts.

He agreed that he had been put “in front of the microphone” a lot more in recent years.

“I think even the guys at the media get tired of asking the same questions. Because I am good at giving the same answers. Most of my answers don’t change that much… I’m just trying to be myself, and I love playing golf.” No, he doesn’t think he’s the face of the sport, but “I love being able to compete, and that’s what I love to do. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do it for a long time.”

And the thing is, he will. Not because he is so good at it, but because “I don’t place much emphasis on winning tournaments.” A thought that he extended with another statement: “It’s just mostly about putting in the proper work and coming out here and competing.” He doesn’t mull over being World No. 1 or even possibly winning a Grand Slam next year. Essentially, it’s all for him and his family, not for the ‘bigger role’ the world hopes to put on him.

See? Pretty consistent. Add to that his family-first approach, and you’ve built a proper Scheffler argument.

As a standalone sentiment, it poses no controversy. It’s his choice. But plenty of the conversation around the sports world has made it sound so.

Take NFL legend Tom Brady, for instance. Days after Scheffler made his priorities clear, Brady gave him a big thumbs down and reverted with a question that has probably found a fandom of its own.

“Scottie said he’d rather be a better father and husband than a good golfer. And my question is: why are those mutually exclusive?”

Now, the question is founded on the thought that Scheffler doesn’t care about everything he has achieved. A terrible misinterpretation, really, if you ask us. Gabby Herzig talked about the same.

“I think a lot of people misunderstood what Scottie was in that moment. They took it to, he’s such a reluctant star, he doesn’t appreciate what he’s doing.”

Now, consider Jordan Spieth‘s statements from The Open: “He doesn’t care to be a superstar,” and “He doesn’t want to go do the stuff that a lot of us go do, corporately, anything like that.” In simpler terms, it just means Scheffler won’t do it for the cameras. And that in itself makes Scheffler a personality different from most golfers or even all (though arguable).

A good thing to mention is that Scheffler’s priorities or understanding of the world has never hurt his game, despite several arguments.

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Scottie Scheffler continues to set standards despite a family-first approach

One other thing that Tom Brady claimed of Scottie Scheffler’s mindset was this: “Part of being a great father is being a great example of doing what it takes to take care of your family.”

It came from the right place, but Scheffler has proved that he is doing just fine.

On Monday, Scheffler snagged the 2025 Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA Tour Player of the Year. It’s his fourth straight, tying Tiger Woods‘ record. In this record season, he hadn’t won any until May. However, shortly after, he was unstoppable, racking up six victories (including two majors) and tightening his OWGR No. 1 stranglehold. That’s quite admirable. Following the moment, Scheffler updated his Instagram and wrote, “Very grateful and honored.”

And the recipe for success? Scheffler claims it’s this: “I’m just trying to get my body in a position where I can feel healthy for most of the year and not have to deal with little aches and pains and stuff like that.”

Hard to argue against that with results like those.