American golfer Scottie Scheffler made headlines at the Open Championship in Portrush last month - and not just for winning it. On the eve of the tournament, he gave an interview that made people around the world sit up and take notice. In a day when sports stars undergo media training and their answers to questions are routine and formulaic, Scheffler tore up the script by asking what the point of it all was.
Many would envy Scheffler - 14th on Forbes' list of the 2025 'World's Highest Paid Athletes', jetting around the world to play sport. Yet when interviewed, Scheffler said bluntly: 'This is not a fulfilling life'. He went on to elaborate: 'It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart. There are a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfil them in life, and you get there, you get to number one in the world, and they’re like “what’s the point?”
Scheffler knows all about the relentless nature of chasing success only to be left feeling empty when you achieve it: 'It feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes. It only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling.'
His words may have been deeply personal, but the newly-minted Open champion has put his finger on something countless human beings experience every day. We all have aspirations. We all have dreams. Some people make incredible sacrifices in order to make their dreams a reality, whether those dreams involve athletic accomplishment, career progression, or family goals. Yet often the most crushing experience isn’t to miss out on those dreams; it is to finally make them a reality and discover that they cannot satisfy us in the way that we were so sure that they would.
On winning the tournament, Scheffler elaborated on his earlier comments: 'I love being able to play this game for a living — it’s one of the greatest joys of my life. But does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.' In fact, he sounded a warning to those watching: 'This is not the place to look for your satisfaction'.
Scheffler, however, as found a greater purpose. 'I would say my greatest priorities are my faith and my family', he said. 'Those come first for me. Golf is third in that order'.
In fact, his faith in Jesus is what frees Scheffler to enjoy golf but keep it in proper perspective. Last year, after his second Masters win, Scheffler gave another revealing interview. He said that on the final morning of his tournament, his friends reminded him that 'my victory was secure on the cross. And that’s a pretty special feeling. To know that I'm secure for forever and it doesn't matter. You know whether or not I win this tournament or if I lose this tournament, my identity is secure for forever.'
In other words, what defines Scheffler isn't sporting success, but what Jesus did for him on the cross. So he doesn't have to win championships to prove his worth. ‘Do I want to win every single golf tournament? Of course. But at the end of the day, that’s not what’s gonna satisfy my soul.'
After his 2022 Masters win, Scheffler put it succinctly: 'The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God and all that he’s done in my life. So for me, my identity isn’t a golf score'.
If we look for created things - including other people - to give us our identity, we'll be disappointed. That's true even of good things. Many would say their family were their number 1 priority. But no human being can bear the weight of all our hopes and dreams. Either it will crush them, or they will disappoint us. Scheffler instead encourages us to look to the Creator. Only when we obey the first of the Ten Commandments - and put God at number 1 - will we be able to keep everything else in proper perspective.
Still in his 20s, Scheffler has made it to the top. He sees it as a platform God has given him to warn the watching world that success can't satisfy. Don't wait until you achieve your deepest earthly longing to realise it can only disappoint. You were made for more.
Published in the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 7th August 2025