DUBLIN, Ohio – Scottie Scheffler’s superpower is staying in the present, but it wasn’t always that way.

During his freshman year at the University of Texas, Scheffler had an impactful conversation with Longhorn coach John Fields, who explained the importance of focusing on the task at hand. At the time, Scheffler’s mind was largely occupied with dating his now-wife Meredith, and sometimes he’d be thinking about Meredith during golf practice – which wasn’t the best recipe to improve his golf game. Scheffler also wanted to maximize his potential in golf, of course, and Fields’ message resonated.

That conversation is well on its way to becoming one of the most consequential discussions in golf history, strengthening Scheffler’s mind to further complement his elite hand-eye coordination (fellow Longhorn Jordan Spieth said Saturday that Scheffler’s club face control is “elite … maybe the best there's ever been”). It has melded Scheffler into an unstoppable force and a generational talent, as evidenced this week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.

Scheffler is racking up PGA TOUR wins at a historic clip, the latest coming on a sunny Sunday afternoon in central Ohio. Scheffler closed in 2-under 70 in demanding conditions at Muirfield Village Golf Club to steadily pull away from the field, including his final-round playing partner and closest pursuer Ben Griffin. The world No. 1 finished at 10-under 278, four strokes clear of Griffin, to secure his 16th PGA TOUR title.

Scheffler, 28, joins an esteemed list of players to earn 16 PGA TOUR titles, including multiple majors by age 32, a group that includes the Memorial tournament host Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas. His success at the Memorial bodes well for the U.S. Open in two weeks at Oakmont, which features the same type of dense rough as Muirfield Village Golf Club. Scheffler has won three of his last four TOUR starts, all by four strokes or more, and he’s quickly building a season akin to his illustrious 2024 campaign, where he won seven TOUR titles, Olympic gold and the FedExCup. It has all happened pretty fast, and it’s plenty to celebrate.

The thing with Scheffler, though? He doesn’t spend much energy dwelling on those accomplishments. He’d much rather live in the present, whether that means competing for a PGA TOUR title or spending time with Meredith and their young son Bennett – who has recently started standing and was upright during Scheffler’s winner’s press conference Sunday at Muirfield Village, which elicited a hearty chuckle from the tournament champion. Scheffler was in the moment, and he loved it.

It ties back to that pivotal conversation with his college coach.

“When I first got to college, I was trying to date this girl whose name was Meredith, and I would come out to the course and if she shot me a text or gave me a phone call, I would pick it up,” Scheffler explained Sunday. “I was still trying to woo her at that point. And I would get a little distracted when it came to practicing. And coach sat me down one day and said, ‘Hey listen, when you're at the golf course, you need to be focused on what you're doing at the golf course. When you're in class, you need to be paying attention in class.’ And he's like, ‘When you get to do your social stuff, you need to be present where you are.’ And it's just, I think it's a better way to try to enjoy life. If I can be present where I am, like if I'm at home thinking about golf, am I going to be fully enjoying the time I get to spend with Meredith and Bennett? Probably not. And if I'm at the golf course thinking about being at home, I'm probably not going to be focused in my practice, not going to get the most out of it.

“So I think it's a daily battle to try and focus on the task at hand, and I think it's a bit of a kind of a living life to the fullest type of thing.”

Scheffler stayed in the present throughout the week at the Memorial, he said Sunday afternoon, which included rounds of 70-70-68-70 in his steady ascent up the leaderboard. “I think I did a pretty good job this week,” he added.

It’s often said that Scheffler is inevitable, and after a slower start to the season (by his lofty standards), it has become clear that he remains professional golf’s most dominant player. His play at Muirfield Village further cemented that perception.

“It’s a long list, a long list of things that makes him impressive,” said Sepp Straka, who finished third at the Memorial. “That's why he's as good as he is.”

It's unlikely that Scheffler will read this article (or much of the record about his Memorial victory) because he prefers not to think about the past or future. It traces back to that conversation with his college coach, and it feeds into everything he does on and off the course. His peers recognize that, too, as a further wrinkle in their pursuit to catch him on the leaderboard. Staying in the moment amidst the throes of PGA TOUR contention gets easier as one garners more reps, as runner-up Griffin observed Sunday – and Scheffler rapidly continues to earn those reps.

Scheffler is comfortable in the spotlight – and he’s getting even more comfortable. That’s a daunting reality for his peers.

“Seems like he's really good at it,” Straka added of Scheffler’s ability to stay in the moment. “He's had a lot of experience in those situations, so I'm sure that that probably has helped, because early on, I think there were definitely some times when people said he should have won more or whatever that is. I mean, I don't know about that, but I'm sure he's learned a lot over the years of how to deal with those situations and the pressure that comes with it.”

As his press conference wound down Sunday evening, Scheffler quipped that he wasn’t sure what he had planned for Monday, let alone think about the upcoming U.S. Open (or any long-term objectives). That perspective matches his ethos and illuminates his superpower. Scheffler is here (clear world No. 1) because he makes sure he is here, in the moment.

Thank you, Coach Fields.

“I think when you're thinking about what you're doing,” Scheffler said Sunday, “I think that's when you're living.”