Skip Bayless has been incredibly candid about how he once told his wife, Ernestine Sclafani Bayless, that she would always come second to his media career. So perhaps it’s no surprise that when the No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, shared that golf isn’t his top priority in life, Bayless had a stark difference in opinion.
Prior to the 2025 Open Championship, which he of course ended up winning, Scheffler admitted that while he obviously wanted to win the tournament, his value in life as a father and husband will always be more important to him than being the best golfer in the world.
Scottie Scheffler just gave one of the best (and deepest) press conference answers ever heard. pic.twitter.com/SUIRKuLwgb
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) July 15, 2025
The vast majority of golf fans appreciated the open and honest admission from Scheffler about what is most important to him, which is obviously more than respectable to countless husbands and fathers across the country.
However, Bayless shared a different opinion on the most recent episode of The Skip Bayless Show on Friday, explaining how he completely counted out Scheffler when he had heard this quote from him.
“A guy who has a chance to be Tiger Woods, maybe even Michael Jordan, was questioning what it all means on the Eve of a major championship that he had never won? My initial reaction was, R.I.P. Scottie Scheffler as a major championship winner. He had doubted, he had questioned, he had asked why. He was, I thought for a moment, done. You know me, I am all about the GOATs being cold-blooded sports killers. Being obsessed with winning to the detriment of everything else in their lives. Win or else, win or bust. Win or go home to nobody.”
Bayless when went into detail about how his professional career has been fueled by an obsession to his craft, a quality he believes he shares with some other “GOATs in sports like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
“See Tiger Woods, see Michael Jordan, see Tom Brady. And on a far, far lower level, see me. Yup, I have always been obsessed with maximizing the talent god gave me. I felt I was called by god to be the very best truth-telling commentator and writer as I could be. The very best. However I could maximize my talent that god gave me, I’m going to do it. To do so, I sacrificed having children because I saw that correctly raising children would be a huge, time-draining distraction from maximizing my talents. You might say, I took on the persona of a cold-blooded media killer, driven to achieve at all costs while honoring god and tithing to my church, supporting other great causes as I have over the years.
“I was jolted and jarred by what Scottie Scheffler said on the Eve of the British Open. No, Scottie, no. God gave you spectacular ability to play the world’s hardest game, gave you the strongest competitive drive since Tiger, gave you what Jack Nicklaus had, what Ben Hogan had. You can’t just shrug it off at age 29 and focus on being a better father than a golfer. You can’t do that, Scottie, no. God wants you to maximize the platform from which you can honor him, and encourage fans to open their hearts to him, to god.
“That’s what god has led or called you to do, Scottie. Not to focus on your wife and infant son before you are 30. Golf is just too hard; the line is just too fine between dominating and missing cuts. So, when I first listened to Scottie Scheffler’s ‘What’s it all mean?’ comments the day before The Open, I couldn’t help but think he would not win another major. Jack won 18, Tiger won 15. I couldn’t help but think Scottie would be stuck on three.”
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, THAT’S WHAT GOD HAS “LED” OR “CALLED” YOU TO DO … NOT TO FOCUS ON YOUR WIFE AND INFANT SON BEFORE YOU’RE 30. GOLF IS JUST TOO HARD … THE LINE IS JUST TOO FINE BETWEEN DOMINATING AND MISSING CUTS pic.twitter.com/7Kl4igyYHh
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 25, 2025
While this may seem like Bayless was criticizing Scheffler’s priorities, he did acknowledge that when he saw Scheffler dominate the competition at The Open, he did change his opinion on whether Scheffler has the competitive drive to become as good, if not better than Tiger Woods.
“Scottie Scheffler then double shocked me by going out and destroying the British Open field,” said Bayless. “His one weakness used to be his putter. He led the British Open in putting. He stunned me with how rock-solid he looked in stroking home so many crucial par putts with such conviction and rhythmic authority. He and his coach have worked so hard to get that stroke right.
“And of course, after he won, he was asked about his pre-tournament soul-searching. This time, after he had time to sleep on it, he said ‘What motivates me is I feel like I’m called to do this to the best of my ability.’ He said that his preparation is what he leans on every first tee the first day of every tournament. He just says, I did the work, which he does, and the work will prevail.
“Atta boy, Scottie, that is it. That is exactly what you could have and should have said before the tournament. Now, Scottie did go on to say on Sunday night, ‘My greatest priority is my faith and my family. Golf is not how I identify myself.’ No, Scottie, but it is how you can build a monument to god. Deep down, I do believe that Scottie is driven to be the greatest of all time.”
Clearly, Bayless and Scheffler couldn’t be further polar opposites in terms of where their priorities in life are. But as long as Scheffler continues to dominate like he has over the past four years, chances are we won’t see Bayless be all that critical of the unquestioned No. 1 golfer in the world.
