The inside story of Scottie Scheffler's marriage to wife Meredith... world No 1 won The Masters despite the couple  - who were teenage sweethearts before tying the knot - expecting a first child

It was a running joke all week at Augusta - only one person, people said, could halt Scottie Scheffler's march towards a second green jacket: his wife Meredith.

At this year's Masters, no one in the field found a way to match the world No 1 as he coasted to a four-shot victory on Sunday.

Across all four days, however, there was a chance that Scheffler would be dragged back home because he and Meredith are expecting their first child - imminently.

No wonder, then, that once the formalities were done and Scheffler had slipped into the green jacket, he told his wife: 'I'm coming home.  

'I'll be home as quick as I can. I love you and I'm coming home!' he continued. Scheffler briefly FaceTimed Meredith, who was watching in Dallas, before taking a private jet to Texas from the nearby airport for a late-night reunion.

The world No 1 had made it clear he would have left Augusta to be by her side - even as he closed in on the green jacket and the $3.6million prize.

It was a sign of the bond between the couple, who were teenage sweethearts before tying the knot in 2020. 

Before Sunday's final round, the pair spoke, with Scheffler later revealing: 'She just asked me if she could pray for me... I actually wasn't able to talk to her very long this morning, which was unusual.'

Typically, the couple would be alone at home before such a big day. Ahead of the final round in 2022, when Scheffler won The Masters for the first time, Meredith helped keep him calm as he struggled to contain his emotions.

This year? 'She sent a lot of prayers. My neck was bugging me a little bit. Just prayed for some healing and prayed for a lot of peace out there,' he said.

'Marriage has been such a tremendous aspect of my life, I cannot even imagine what being a parent is going to be like.'

These days, Meredith (nee Scudder) works for 'With Purpose' in Texas, which is 'dedicated to spreading awareness about childhood cancer and raising funds for childhood cancer research.'

She was only a teen when she met Scheffler, who was born in New Jersey before moving to Dallas as a young boy. It's said they met as freshmen at Highland Park High School.

The pair stayed together despite attending different colleges - Scottie played golf at the University of Texas between 2014 and 2018 while Meredith studied two hours' away at Texas A&M University.

She came away from College Station with an honor's degree in communication in 2018.

'YES! I can’t believe God gave me my best friend to spend the rest of my life with,' Meredith wrote on social media after they got engaged.

'Can’t wait to be your wife, Scottie! Blown away at the Lord’s faithfulness and goodness to us. (LET’S) DO THIS!'

By the time they tied the knot at Arlington Hall in Dallas in December 2020, the couple had been dating for six years.

Meredith has been by Scheffler's side throughout the golfer's remarkable rise to world No 1 - despite her not knowing much about the sport when they met.

'She's learned fast,' Scheffler once said. 'She's a student of the game. She's come to learn it.'

She has caddied for him during The Masters' Par Three Contest and appeared on the green after his first triumph at Augusta.

Meredith was also pictured alongside Scheffler after his victory at last month's Players Championship - despite being heavily pregnant - and she has been there to comfort him in his few dark moments.

Photographs showed Meredith with her arm around Scheffler after he lost in last year's Ryder Cup. 

'Meredith obviously knows me better than anybody, being my wife,' he told Golf.com. 'She knows how hard it is when I don’t win.' Fortunately that doesn't happen too often. 

He added: 'I'm not going to take my eye off the ball... we'll enjoy the birth but I still love competing. My son or daughter and wife will be main priority so golf will be maybe fourth in line but I definitely don't plan on taking my eye off the ball any time soon.'