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Scottie Scheffler has proven he’s human over the last couple of weeks, which led to initial concern when he withdrew from this week’s Houston Open.
The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that Matt Kuchar would replace Scheffler, whose withdraw came rather abruptly, considering this weekend is one of the final tuneups ahead of the Masters.
However, there is good reason for the move, as Scheffler and his wife, Meredith, are reportedly set to welcome their second child.
Perhaps the stress of welcoming another child had been weighing on Scheffler. He finished T-22 at The Players earlier this month after finishing T-24 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He began the 2026 season with a victory at The American Express and followed up with typical results of T-3 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T-4 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He then finished T-12 at the Genesis Invitational.
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For context, before this recent slump, Scheffler finished inside the top 10 in each of his previous 19 tournaments, and the last time he finished outside the top 20 in back-to-back events was in July and August 2023.
Scheffler has had success in Houston, finishing T2 in three of the last four Children’s Opens.
Scheffler won the Masters for the first time in 2022, officially putting himself on the map. Two years later, he took the green jacket back from Jon Rahm, proving himself as the game’s best after being named the PGA Tour Player of the Year in each of the two years prior.
Scheffler’s last chance for a Masters warm-up will be next week at the Valero Texas Open, but it remains to be seen what happens next weekend, and afterward. The couple became parents in May 2024, just weeks after Scheffler’s second win at Augusta.
Reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to back spasms but returned for The Players the following week.
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