Mature beyond his years.
That’s how former NFL quarterback Tony Romo described Scottie Scheffler in a writeup for Time’s “100 Most Influential People of 2026.”
Scheffler downplayed the comments after his opening round at the RBC Heritage on Thursday, suggesting he does not know whether or not he should even be considered a role model to kids — perhaps a reflux of that maturity.
“I’d much rather try to be a positive influence than a negative one,” he told reporters when asked about being influence on kids and young golfers. "... I dreamed of growing up and being a professional golfer, and being able to achieve my dreams, I’m very fortunate to have been able to do that, but at the end of the day, like I said at The Open last year, that’s not what satisfies me. If I can be a positive influence on someone’s life, that’s a great thing. But at the end of the day, I don’t know if I’m the best role model.”
Scheffler added that he didn’t know what to make of the recognition or what making Time’s list means.
He praised Romo, with whom he plays golf regularly, for being a “great asset” to him over the years.
“Just to see how he goes through life as a family man and as someone who is on TV all the time,” Scheffler said. He was the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, so he has a better understanding than I do of what it’s like to be in the spotlight, and I’m fortunate to have the ability to bounce stuff off of him, whether or not he handles certain things like -- how he handles his sponsorship days or how he handles media or pictures when he goes out to dinner, little stuff like that that I feel like I’ve just learned a lot from him about how to navigate being a professional athlete while also trying to be a family man.”
Romo, for his part, wrote he was going to be Scheffler in golf one day.
“He hasn’t beaten me yet,” Scheffler said but left the door open.
“I’m not going to say that he can’t because he’s a good golfer, so I’m definitely not going to go out and say that he can’t,” he added, “in golf you never really know what’s going to happen.”