Scottie Scheffler gives two-word answer on putting sex rule in place with his wife

Scottie Scheffler couldn't keep a straight face after being asked if he'd impose a sex ban with his wife. The American, 28, won the second major of his career in April by clinching the Green Jacket at Augusta National - two years after his first triumph at the Masters - though came perilously close to withdrawing mid-tournament.

This is because his wife, Meredith, was more than eight months pregnant with their son, Bennett, who relievedly arrived three weeks after the Masters ended. During the tournament, Scheffler insisted he'd rush to Meredith's side if she went into labour, regardless of how well he was performing.

Given that golf is a seasonal sport - with most big events taking place between April and October - one might assume that players looking to start families would try and schedule the birth of their children for the winter months. But that certainly isn't the case in the Scheffler household.

During an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast, the New Jersey-born star was asked if he'd considered an intimacy ban at certain times of the year to avoid a repeat of the tense situation he faced at the Masters. "Not quite," a chortling Scheffler replied. "It's pretty difficult to have babies, so whenever the next one decides to show up we'll be pretty grateful."

Sex bans aren't uncommon in sport. Many high profile boxers have been known to impose them in the lead up to a fight, and several football managers, including former England boss Fabio Capello and Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola, have encouraged their players to avoid intimacy at certain intervals.

Continuing, Scheffler claimed that he has a much healthier perspective on his professional life now that he's become a dad. "Part of [being a father] has helped me mentally because golf can be tough and sometimes we can be our own harshest critic," the World No. 1 said.

"When it comes to how I'm performing on the golf course, sometimes when I get off the course after a tough day I'll kind of look at myself and be like, 'If this was Bennett in here, what would I tell him after the day?' And so, part of that has been really helpful.

"And then when you get home, it's one thing for your parents or Meredith to say that don't care what you shoot, but at the end of the day it means a lot to me. But when you get home and you see Bennett, and he sees you walk through the door and he's like, 'Hey man, what's up?' you surely do just forget about everything else. It's pretty amazing."