Scottie Scheffler withdraws from Houston Open ahead of birth of second child

The No. 1 player in the world withdrawing from a PGA Tour event in his home state two weeks before the Masters might seem like cause for concern. But in the case of Scottie Scheffler, it was expected—and thankfully for him not injury related.

Scheffler’s wife, Meredith, is pregnant with the couple’s second child, and Golf Digest has confirmed with Scheffler’s team that Scottie’s decision to pull out of the Texas Children’s Houston Open on Tuesday was connected to the impending birth.

Matt Kuchar is filling Scheffler's spot in the field at Memorial Park.

The arrival of a baby in the midst of major championship prep isn’t new for Scheffler. His first child, Bennett, was born in May 2024, shortly after Scheffler won his second Masters title and a few days before the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

Ahead of that year’s Masters, Scheffler was asked about his plans should Meredith go into labor while he was at Augusta National. “Yeah, open lines of communication and she can get ahold of me if she needs to. I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

This week’s PGA Tour stop at Memorial Park was going to be Scheffler’s last formal prep before he tries to win a third green jacket in five years. A year ago he finished T-2 at Memorial Park, one shot back of winner Min Woo Lee. 

Scheffler started this season with a win and three top-five finishes in his first three starts. In his last three, he has finished no better than T-12 but no worse than T-24, and his strokes gained numbers at the recent Players Championship were low by Scheffler's high standards. He was 44th in SG/off the tee and 37th in SG/approach.

While some in the media pressed Scheffler about whether his swing felt out of sorts, he explained the approach he was taking with his game.

“I think with the way I hit it the first couple days, to kind of have the attitude that I did and the fight that I did, I think that … when I look at tournaments, I’m not thinking about winning, I’m thinking about approaching things the right way,” Scheffler said after this third round Saturday at TPC Sawgrass. “I did my best to stay committed, and I did a good job, I think, of keeping the right attitude and keeping my head on straight in order to grind out a couple of rounds that were difficult. And then I shot a nice round today as well. So overall, I think I’ve been in a good spot with how my attitude and commitment have been to my shots. So that’s, for me, that’s a good week.”

Another week of prep ahead of Augusta is something Scheffler might well have liked, but with his record at the Masters (six starts, two wins, four top-10s, 18 of 24 rounds under par) it's safe to say he's familiar with the course.