Scottie Scheffler holds his son, Bennett, after winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Scottie Scheffler has won a lot of golf tournaments in his career, especially the past few years — the Masters (twice), the Players Championship (twice), the Tour Championship, the Olympics, just to name a few. Though it’s maybe not at the same level of prestige as those other victories, his win on Sunday will be one he’ll remember for the rest of his life — and not just because he matched the PGA Tour scoring record.
Scheffler cruised past the field for a 31-under par, eight-shot victory at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in his hometown of McKinney, Texas, the first title of the year for the world’s No. 1 golfer. He posted a 72-hole score of 253, which tied for the lowest score recorded on the PGA Tour, set by Justin Thomas in 2017 and also matched by Ludvig Åberg in 2023.
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Scheffler had a chance to break the record, but he made bogey on the 17th hole and an 8-foot putt for birdie just slid by the left side of the hole on No. 18.
It’s the 14th career win for Scheffler, the three-time reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year. He’s now been ranked No. 1 for 103 consecutive weeks (since May 21, 2023) and a total of 138 weeks. Only Tiger Woods (683) and Greg Norman (331) have spent more time atop the Official World Golf Ranking.
But winning for the first time on this course — TPC Craig Ranch — in this tournament is special for Scheffler because of all the childhood memories that come with it.
“I grew up coming to watch it. This was my first start on the PGA Tour when I was in high school,” Scheffler said in his post-round press conference. “The girl I was dating at the time is now my wife. We have one son. My sister was caddieing for me at the time. She was here today; she has two kids. My family was all able to be here, and it was just really, really special memories, and I think at times it all comes crashing down to me at once. We have a lot of great memories as kids coming to watch this tournament. I just dreamed to be able to play in it, and it’s more of a dream to be able to win it.”
The Byron Nelson tournament comes at a point on the PGA Tour schedule when many of the top players are preparing for the season’s second major, the PGA Championship from May 15-18. But it was important for Scheffler to play this year not only because it’s in his hometown and he can sleep in his own bed, but also because he aims to honor the legacy of Nelson, whom Scheffler got a chance to meet when he was a kid. Nelson, who passed away in 2006, was a five-time major winner and a 1974 inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
“When I think about this tournament, I think about Mr. Nelson. I think about what he did for the game of golf. He was a man of faith, and he was a great person as well off the golf course. He was a person that I’ve read a lot about. I’ve had the opportunity to meet him a few times when I was a kid, and I know a lot about him. He was a tremendous player and a tremendous person,” Scheffler said in the press conference.
Being a man of faith is important to the 28-year-old Scheffler as well. He describes himself on Instagram as a “Christ Follower” and has shared numerous times about how his faith guides him in golf and life.
“The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God and all that He’s done in my life,” he said after his Masters win in 2022. “So for me, my identity isn’t a golf score. … All I’m trying to do is glorify God and that’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m in this position.”
He reiterated that sentiment after earning his second green jacket in April 2024.
“My buddies told me this morning, ‘My victory was secure on the cross,’” he said. “And that’s a pretty special feeling to know that I’m secure for forever and it doesn’t matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever.”
Scheffler’s first public testimony to the golf media came after his victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2022, his second career win, which followed his initial victory at the WM Phoenix Open the month prior. He was asked how he could win again so quickly after his first PGA Tour win.
“You’ve really got to look at the motivation for why I play. For me, I have a relationship with Jesus Christ,” Scheffler said. “That’s why I play golf. I’m out here to compete because that’s where He wants me. He’s in control of what happens in the end. So just really staying the course and staying faithful and letting Him be the guidance for me versus anything that I do.”
While starring at the University of Texas, Scheffler got connected with College Golf Fellowship, and even amid his rise to No. 1 in the world, he’s stayed in touch with the ministry as a way to pour into young golfers, which he once was.
“College Golf Fellowship was important to me,” he told Sports Spectrum in May 2022 for a story in the Summer 2022 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine. “It’s had a pretty significant impact on my life, and so, to be able to give back to that foundation and share some of my experiences with younger guys is really important.”
Soon after his first Masters win, Scheffler made sure to keep his commitment to speak to about 40 College Golf Fellowship supporters during an event at the Vaquero Golf Club in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“My identity is not as being a Masters champion, is not what I shot, and that frees me up a lot,” Scheffler told the audience. “God has given us a skill we feel we’re using for His glory.”
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