Scottie Scheffler Making His First Start Since Masters Win at Zurich Classic

The world No. 1 has kept a low profile with his green jacket, but a letter from President Bush was one sign that his world has changed a bit.

As difficult as it may seemingly be pull off, Scottie Scheffler maintains that playing golf as the reigning Masters champion will be business as usual.

He’s not concerned about his hot streak of winning four times in the last two months to get to No. 1 in the world and adding his first major championship. Nor is he worried about all the attention changing him.

But he did acknowledge Wednesday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans that some things have changed.

For instance, a congratulatory letter he received from President George W. Bush.

“Yeah, his handwriting is really hard to read,’’ Scheffler said. “I heard he’s a good artist now. He’s got to do some work on his handwriting.

“Stuff like that is pretty cool. To have someone like that to reach out just to congratulate me is pretty special. That’s probably kind of the only moments I’ve had where I kind of sit and reflect on what’s happened the past month and a half, two months. Obviously the Masters is such a different event than the rest of them.

“Just getting messages like that from people I’ve looked up to for so long is really special.’’

Scheffler, 25, returns to competitive golf this week in New Orleans along with fellow Texan Ryan Palmer, his partner in the team event.

After a week at home and getting away from golf for only a few days, Scheffler said he was anxious to get back to it.

“For me, I don’t look too far ahead,’’ said Scheffler, who has won four of his last six starts. “I don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff. People kept asking me at the Masters, I think they kept saying three out of six, and I had to remember if it was three out of five or four of six, I couldn’t remember what it was. I really just try to stay in the moment.

“For me, that’s fun for you guys to talk about. It’s nice to be on a good run. All I’m focused on is this week and getting ready to play with Ryan. Goals, expectations, nothing like that changes for me. I just like being out here playing golf.’’

And yet, there is the matter of that green jacket that he was able to take from Augusta National. He is the only person allowed to wear it off the grounds, but so far he’s been low-key about it and plans to remain that way.

“When my wife (Meredith) asks me to do stuff at home, sometimes I’ll grab it out of the closest and look at her. Huh, really?’’ he joked. “It hasn’t worked yet.

“I’ve just had some fun with it at home. I haven’t really done anything special. I haven’t taken it out of the house. I think I’m the only one that can take the jacket off the property, so I want to do a good job of representing Augusta National well, and I've got to bring it back at the end of (his time as Masters winner). Since I’m almost the representation of the green jacket outside of the club, I’m treating it with respect. I’m not going to do anything crazy with it.’’

The team event is an official PGA Tour tournament, although no ranking points are awarded. The format will have the teams play four-ball (best ball) during the first and third rounds, with foursomes (alternate shot) in the second and fourth rounds. There will be a cut after 36 holes to the low 30 teams and ties.

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