section_path: Early life and amateur career
section_name: Early life and amateur career
paragraph_text: Early life and amateur career
  
  Scheffler was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on June 21, 1996. His father, Scott, grew up in Englewood Cliffs, and his mother, Diane (née DeLorenzo), grew up in Park Ridge. Scheffler is of Italian descent on his mother's side and German descent on his father's side. His grandfather was a veteran of the U.S. military who served in the Korean War. Scheffler was the only boy among four children. His sisters are named Callie, Molly and Sara. The family lived in Montvale, New Jersey, until Scheffler was aged six, when they moved to Dallas, Texas, in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Scott was a carpenter who became a stay-at-home dad, while Diane worked as a business manager at the law firm Skadden in New York City, and later as a chief operating officer at the law firm Thompson & Knight in Dallas.
  
  Scheffler's interest in golf began at age three, when his parents gave him a set of plastic clubs and ball. He practiced as a child by hitting ping-pong balls inside his home, curving the ball from one room to the next. While living in New Jersey, Scheffler frequently asked his father to take him to the 9W Driving Range in Palisades, New York near the Hudson River. In winter, Scheffler's father shoveled snow from the range to allow him to still practice. After the move to Dallas, his parents borrowed $50,000 to join Royal Oaks Country Club, where Scheffler began to receive tutelage under instructor Randy Smith, who had coached Justin Leonard to a victory at the 1997 Open Championship. At Royal Oaks, Scheffler also learned from professional golfers such as Leonard, Ryan Palmer, Colt Knost, and Harrison Frazar. He watched them as they practiced, and from the age of nine would challenge them to chipping and putting contests. He had prolific success at the youth level, and won 90 of the 136 tournaments he played on the Northern Texas PGA junior circuit, competing against the likes of fellow Dallas-area golfer Will Zalatoris.
  
  Entering high school, Scheffler was barely 5 feet (1.5 m) in height, but experienced a large growth spurt and soon measured over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. He played golf and basketball at Highland Park High School in the Dallas enclave of University Park. At Highland Park, Scheffler won individual state titles three years in a row (2012 to 2014), matching a record set by fellow Texan Jordan Spieth. He also had success in AJGA events, and won the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, defeating Davis Riley 3 and 2. Scheffler was the top-ranked junior golfer in the country in 2014, and in April 2014 he won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. He made his PGA Tour debut in May 2014, as a 17-year-old amateur at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. With his sister Callie caddying for him, he made the cut. He recorded a hole-in-one in the third round and ultimately finished at 4-under-par, in a tie for 22nd place. He was ineligible for the $60,000 payout due to his amateur status.
  
  Scheffler was then recruited to play golf for the Texas Longhorns at the University of Texas at Austin beginning in fall 2014. He won his first individual collegiate title, the Western Intercollegiate held at Pasatiempo Golf Club, in April 2015. Two weeks later, he won the Big 12 Individual Championship held at Southern Hills Country Club. He was named 2015 " Phil Mickelson Freshman of the Year" and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year due to these performances. He struggled with back injuries during his sophomore season, and recorded only one top-10 finish. Texas Longhorns golf coach John Fields said Scheffler was still adapting to his physical growth: "He's gone from 5-foot-2, 100 pounds in eighth grade to almost 6-foot-4, 200 pounds just six years later."
  
  In June 2016, Scheffler qualified for his first U.S. Open. He opened with a first-round 69 and held the overnight clubhouse lead, but shot a second-round 78 to miss the cut by one stroke. He was then selected to represent the United States at the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy in September, and won the East Lake Cup held at East Lake Golf Club in October. Scheffler again qualified for the U.S. Open in 2017, after surviving a 4-for-3 playoff to earn a spot in the field. He and Cameron Champ were the only two amateurs to make the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open. Scheffler finished as low amateur at 1-under-par, one stroke ahead of Champ. He was also part of the U.S. team that won the 2017 Walker Cup, where he defeated Connor Syme in the Sunday singles. Scheffler became a member of the Texas Cowboys in the spring of 2017, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in finance.
  
  Scheffler was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, on June 21, 1996. His father, Scott, grew up in Englewood Cliffs, and his mother, Diane (née DeLorenzo), grew up in Park Ridge. Scheffler is of Italian descent on his mother's side and German descent on his father's side. His grandfather was a veteran of the U.S. military who served in the Korean War. Scheffler was the only boy among four children. His sisters are named Callie, Molly and Sara. The family lived in Montvale, New Jersey, until Scheffler was aged six, when they moved to Dallas, Texas, in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Scott was a carpenter who became a stay-at-home dad, while Diane worked as a business manager at the law firm Skadden in New York City, and later as a chief operating officer at the law firm Thompson & Knight in Dallas.
  
  Scheffler's interest in golf began at age three, when his parents gave him a set of plastic clubs and ball. He practiced as a child by hitting ping-pong balls inside his home, curving the ball from one room to the next. While living in New Jersey, Scheffler frequently asked his father to take him to the 9W Driving Range in Palisades, New York near the Hudson River. In winter, Scheffler's father shoveled snow from the range to allow him to still practice. After the move to Dallas, his parents borrowed $50,000 to join Royal Oaks Country Club, where Scheffler began to receive tutelage under instructor Randy Smith, who had coached Justin Leonard to a victory at the 1997 Open Championship. At Royal Oaks, Scheffler also learned from professional golfers such as Leonard, Ryan Palmer, Colt Knost, and Harrison Frazar. He watched them as they practiced, and from the age of nine would challenge them to chipping and putting contests. He had prolific success at the youth level, and won 90 of the 136 tournaments he played on the Northern Texas PGA junior circuit, competing against the likes of fellow Dallas-area golfer Will Zalatoris.
  
  Entering high school, Scheffler was barely 5 feet (1.5 m) in height, but experienced a large growth spurt and soon measured over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. He played golf and basketball at Highland Park High School in the Dallas enclave of University Park. At Highland Park, Scheffler won individual state titles three years in a row (2012 to 2014), matching a record set by fellow Texan Jordan Spieth. He also had success in AJGA events, and won the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, defeating Davis Riley 3 and 2. Scheffler was the top-ranked junior golfer in the country in 2014, and in April 2014 he won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. He made his PGA Tour debut in May 2014, as a 17-year-old amateur at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. With his sister Callie caddying for him, he made the cut. He recorded a hole-in-one in the third round and ultimately finished at 4-under-par, in a tie for 22nd place. He was ineligible for the $60,000 payout due to his amateur status.
  
  Scheffler was then recruited to play golf for the Texas Longhorns at the University of Texas at Austin beginning in fall 2014. He won his first individual collegiate title, the Western Intercollegiate held at Pasatiempo Golf Club, in April 2015. Two weeks later, he won the Big 12 Individual Championship held at Southern Hills Country Club. He was named 2015 " Phil Mickelson Freshman of the Year" and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year due to these performances. He struggled with back injuries during his sophomore season, and recorded only one top-10 finish. Texas Longhorns golf coach John Fields said Scheffler was still adapting to his physical growth: "He's gone from 5-foot-2, 100 pounds in eighth grade to almost 6-foot-4, 200 pounds just six years later."
  
  In June 2016, Scheffler qualified for his first U.S. Open. He opened with a first-round 69 and held the overnight clubhouse lead, but shot a second-round 78 to miss the cut by one stroke. He was then selected to represent the United States at the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy in September, and won the East Lake Cup held at East Lake Golf Club in October. Scheffler again qualified for the U.S. Open in 2017, after surviving a 4-for-3 playoff to earn a spot in the field. He and Cameron Champ were the only two amateurs to make the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open. Scheffler finished as low amateur at 1-under-par, one stroke ahead of Champ. He was also part of the U.S. team that won the 2017 Walker Cup, where he defeated Connor Syme in the Sunday singles. Scheffler became a member of the Texas Cowboys in the spring of 2017, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in finance.