MASTERS TOURNAMENT MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 19, 2025

Scottie Scheffler

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Scottie, thank you for your time. We look forward to seeing you here very soon.

Just to get us started, how are preparations going as you get ready for this year's Masters?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, prep is going well. Had a couple decent starts to the year. Definitely working on a couple things going into the Masters, but had another good prep week at home there playing my last start before the Masters, which is Houston next week.

But everything is going well here at home.

THE MODERATOR: Before we get into the question portion of the press conference I understand you put the final touches on your Champion's Dinner menu.

Can you share the details with this audience today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, it's a little bit more of the same. It's my favorite foods, haven't quite changed too much but there's a little bit, I would say, more kind of nostalgic stuff. My dad's meatballs made the menu. I think there's a meatball and ravioli type of dish that was always my favorite thing growing up. My dad, his best meal was always meatballs. So I think that's going to be one of the appetizers.

Then the soup, my coach makes the best chili, Randy does. So I think they are trying to use his recipe for the chili inspiration.

So that's really fun, those two things, and then I think we're doing ribeye again, and some red fish and tequila and bourbon this time. It should be a fun night, fun meal, and very excited about being able to host a Champion's Dinner again and very excited to see what how it's prepared and what the chefs at Augusta pull off this year. I'm really looking forward to it.

Q. Obviously Augusta National is such a special place. I'm wondering if you could share both your favorite spot on the property, and if you have any sort of personal traditions that you do every time you return to Augusta National?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: As far as personal traditions go, I usually come in Sunday morning. I typically hand out an award at the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship. That's always a fun thing for me to do and a fun thing that Augusta National does.

Then it's tradition on Sunday at the Masters past champions get to bring a guest to play, and the last few years I've brought a guest to play one year. I think last year it's been my sisters, and this year I think my mom is going to come play.

And so I think that day is a good day for me to soak in being back at the Masters, enjoy the memories and have some fun with a family member or close friend and just enjoy the golf course, enjoy the day, before the workweek starts on Monday.

I kind of try to get everything out of the way on Sunday and get all the lore and everything that goes with being at Augusta National, kind of get that out of the way and settle into a tournament week.

As far as my favorite spot on property, I mean, I don't know if I really have a favorite spot. I think when you pull in the gates, I think that's the most special thing for me. I really feel like you're just kind of turning into this whole other world. It's like a different place than the world just outside the gates.

And you pull in, and everything else just kind of melts away. You really -- I forget about a lot of stuff that's going on. I just kind of get really in tune to just try to play golf and get ready and prepare to play the golf course. Pulling into the gates is always a really special feeling. It feels to me like we're going into a different -- a different world.

Maybe my favorite spot is outside of the locker room there. There's a little patio that's upstairs, and you can kind of loop around to the other side and you have a little view of the first tee and No. 10 and the golf course and it's a pretty cool little spot to sit and watch. I kind of sit up there and just watch what's going on and nobody really knows that I'm up there.

Just kind of sitting there watching the crowds, enjoying the sights and sounds of Augusta, and nobody really knows that you're there, so it's pretty nice.

I kind of just gave myself away with that one. That's tough. Maybe everyone will know now that's listening to this.

Q. You mentioned Randy and his chili earlier. This is a big question, impossible to quantify, I'm sure, but in what ways would you say that Randy Smith has been most impactful in your career?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I would say it's definitely tough to quantify. But Randy has taught me since I was six or seven years old. It's been over 20 years now he's been teaching me. He's a bit out of his mind sometimes. He's getting older. He's getting crazier and crazier by the day, but he is like a savant when it comes to the golf swing, he really is.

The more I'm able to communicate to him how I'm feeling and the things that I want to feel in my golf swing, the better he gets at teaching. I mean, he's the only person, really, that I've consulted with my swing my whole life. He's kind of the driving force behind what I do. If there's ever a question of something I want to change with whatever I'm doing, Randy is always the first person I go to. Whether it's something with my body or I'm trying to work on something in the gym, he's the first person I go to with all that stuff.

So he's really the guy behind the scenes that, I would say, is running the show and you know from regripping my club to regripping my grip club to literally as far as the other side of the spectrum at the gym. He's the guy that I consult everything for my golf swing. So it's hard to quantify what Randy has done for my career.

Q. Wherever you kept your jacket when you won in 2022 at home, when you got home after Rahm won, did you notice it wasn't there anymore?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I wish I enjoyed having the jacket more at home than I do. To be honest with you, many times this year, I kind of forgot it was back there. It sat kind of in the corner of my closet. It's actual little been in like the little travel thing that Augusta gives us. Even when it's not there, the travel little thing is still there with some sort of suit in it.

So nothing -- I mean, it doesn't really change much to be honest with you. I wish I enjoyed having it more at home than I have.

Q. Did you appreciate having it more the second time around than the first, or was it just out of sight, out of mind?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think to say out of sight, out of mind would be a little bit silly. It's definitely nice to have around at home.

But at the end of the day when I'm at home, golf is not the first thing in my mind. I try to put it on the back burner when I get inside the walls of my house. Kind of like pulling in the gates of Augusta, everything else melts away. I try to make my home the same place where I'm not thinking about work.

So it's good and bad to that. You know, when the green jacket is there it's probably a bad thing that I'm not enjoying it there but when it's not there I definitely don't look at the spot in the closet and be like, Man, I wish it was there, you know.

Q. On more than one occasion recently Rory has talked about how he basically reset, given the sort of standard that you have set. How much of a compliment do you look at that being, and was there someone that you sort of did a similar thing with over the past few years?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: You know, I think that's a nice thing for Rory to say. I think the good players out on tour, I think we all can learn a lot from each other. And so there has not been one person that I've modeled certain things off of.

But when you get a chance to be around the type of player that I get to be around a lot of the time, looking at playing with guys like Rory, Xander Schauffele, I play a bunch of golf with Jordan Spieth here at home, the amount of things that I can learn by watching and hearing how they think their shots.

I've been very blessed over the course of my lifetime to be around a lot of great players and learn from them and that's something that I feel like a lot of the best players on tour are doing often. Like I was just trading some texts with Justin Thomas the other day about the way we think through things on the golf course; and he gave me some good advice, and I was able to reciprocate a couple things back to him.

I think we all can learn a lot from each other, and I think you just do that just by watching and then sometimes you get the opportunity to ask questions if you're close enough to the guy. But a lot of the stuff I learned is just from watching players.

Q. Two years ago, Jon Rahm received the green jacket from you, and last year you received the green jacket from John. Now that he's playing LIV, do you miss playing more tournaments with him?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I definitely go do. One of the great joyous of my career is going up against Jon. He's a tremendous player, tremendous talent. I was definitely surprised to see him leave last year and I for sure miss playing against him.

We had some great battles over the years. We had some great battles in the Ryder Cup. I think we've halved most of our matches in the Ryder Cup, John and I have. I think we might be dead even, I'm not sure exactly, but I feel like we've played five or six times. Maybe we've played five times and halved three of them, and I've won one and he's won one. We've played a lot in the last two Ryder Cups, and he's a great guy to compete against.

So I definitely miss playing against him. I wish he was -- I wish he got to do it more often, but definitely will soak in all the opportunities that I get to compete against him going forward.

Q. I'm checking on a food question. On your menu is "Scottie-style sliders." I'm wondering if there's a story behind that, how you came about getting that on the menu, and what's the story behind that?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's as simple as cheeseburgers is my favorite food. I don't eat them now as often as I did when I was a kid. I've got to watch a little bit more what I eat now.

But "Scottie style," I always put the fries on my burger, and that's what "Scottie style" is. It's fries on the patty. It's usually thin patties. So my favorite burger place here in town, it's thin patties with cheese in between each patty. And I'll find some of the melted cheese, throw the fries in there, catch up. It's pretty great.

Q. Last year since you've been reigning Masters Champion, there's been a lot going on in your life, winning a lot of golf tournaments, birth of a son. How do you keep an even keel through winning and things that happen off the course?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I try to compartmentalize things. So I feel like I have my work life and personal life. When we're traveling and playing golf tournaments, very focused on my job, especially at the golf course. Very focused on the things I need to do to go out and play well.

And when I get home for the day, I try to leave those things at the golf course. Whether or not I have a good or bad day on the golf course, my son definitely didn't care.

My wife is aware of whether or not I have a bad day, but she also doesn't care too much. Just try and keep the two things separated and kind of go from there.

Q. When you look back at the injury that you sustained this year, obviously the results have been good this year, and they haven't been the same level that they were last year. Do you feel like it set you back?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: You know, I think it would be silly to say that it didn't set me back a little bit because I had to take a good amount of time off. I'm a right-handed golfer. So any sort of injury you have to that hand, especially a surgical one is going to have some sort of effect.

So I think it would be silly to say that it didn't set me back a little bit. But at the end of the day, you know, it's one of those things where you know, accidents happen. I'm going to live my life. I can't live in a bubble. You know we were literally making Christmas dinner, and you know, sustained an injury. That's the stuff that happens.

So do I regret anything? Obviously not. Did it set me back a little bit? Maybe some. But each day, my hand continues to improve. My body continues to get back to where it needs to be, and I think my swing is coming around, as well. So I'm definitely excited about the improvements that I'm making.

As you said, the results this year have been decent. I feel like I'm really close to playing some really nice golf again. I've got another good week of prep here at home, and I felt like we learned a lot last week at Sawgrass. And I'm really excited. I got back in the gym pretty quick yesterday. Went out and hit some balls as well. I'm definitely excited about the things that we kind of figured out at the moment.

Q. You said "improving." So it wasn't a hundred percent then, the hand, when you came back?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Just like getting the strength back in the hand and all that stuff. Like I have absolutely no pain in the hand but getting the full total range of motion out of my hand is a little bit of different story. Just because you're not able to use a certain muscle for almost a month's time, like my hand, I wasn't able to really use. You have to build back strength in that hand.

And not being able to do the exact things that I did in the gym was a challenge as well. I think it was after the Match, I got the flu, we came home, and then we went right on vacation. And then for Christmas, you know, when I was going to come back and start practicing again, I hurt my hand. It was a pretty good chunk of time where I wasn't able to do the things that I normally did.

So when you come back, it takes a little bit of time, and you know, my 100 percent is I'm pretty -- I don't know exactly how to describe it. I'm very structured in the way that I do things here at home, and so not being able to do those things is definitely an adjustment.

So like you said, did it set me back a little bit? Maybe so. But I feel like I'm learning a lot right now, and I definitely did some things really well to start the year. That was nice. I definitely had some things that I could for sure improve on, and like I said, my swing, I feel like is really starting to come around.

And I'm definitely, definitely excited about the things we kind of figured out when we were in Jacksonville.

Q. This time last year, you had won Bay Hill and you had won players, and I remember writing that you were a worthy favorite at the prices that Tiger Woods used to be in his prime. That's not quite the case this year. Do you think Rory to be favorite, or are you happy to be favorite to win again?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, believe it or not, I'm not going to gamble on the Masters Tournament, so I could not really care any less.

Q. Fair enough. The other topic, you mentioned you're improving and getting closer. Have you been frustrated on the course this year that it just has not quite clicked for you yet?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, yeah, I think any time you don't play up to your expectations, it's frustrating. So with the game of golf, going to be frustrated probably about 95 percent of the time. And this year, I definitely, my ball-striking hasn't been as good as it has been the last few years.

I felt like that was what was holding me back the last couple weeks, just not hitting the ball as sharply as I had in previous years. So a lot of that is kind of getting the body back to where it needs to be.

Like I said, it was an extended break, and not only does it affect my hand, which is getting very close to a hundred percent, but it affects the rest of how the body works because I wasn't able to get in the gym and do the things I normally do and practise the way that I normally practise.

All those things are a definite adjustment, and a lot of that is just not being able to get the reps. It takes time for me to bet back into a hundred percent golf shape. And like if you look at my around-the-greens stuff the first few weeks, I wasn't as sharp as I normally am, and that was just shaking off the rust from an extended break that I was not expecting.

So I feel like I'm getting sharper and sharper and getting closer and closer to playing some really good golf as the season gets going for me, and definitely excited about the events coming up.

Q. Just wondering if you could sum it up yourself: Why does your game fit so well at Augusta National?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Why does my game fit so well at Augusta National? It's a good question. I think the golf course is really difficult. You have to manage your way around the course, and I've been very -- I've done a very good job of managing my way around the course the last few years and hitting the appropriate shots when I need to and being in control of my ball.

I think that would probably be the most -- the best way I could describe is when I'm in control of my golf ball, I have very good strategy for playing the golf course. But at the end of the day, you've got to hit the shots. That's what it is at Augusta. I could talk about it all day long about where to play it and the certain type of shot to hit.

But if you don't pull a shot off, you're going to be punished out there. And the last few years, I've been pulling off the shots I'm trying to hit. Looking forward to try and tackle the golf course again this year.

Q. Do you think it brings out the artistry in you as a golfer, the creativity of shaping shots more than maybe you would at an average PGA TOUR venue?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I would say that there's definitely an aspect to that. The golf course changes a good amount from soft greens to firm greens. We've had some wind the last few years.

One thing that's different about Augusta National compared to a lot of the other major championship venues is the lack of rough. When you get the ball off-line there, you're either in pine straw -- there is a rough, cut but it's typically pretty small.

So you're not really -- like at U.S. Open or PGA Championship, you play in the rough, you're playing a lot of hack-out shots. When you miss the green at Augusta National, typically you're in the fairway, and there's always opportunity to play a shot. It just so happens that a lot of the shots around the greens are pretty tough because you've got elevated greens, and there's a lot of different variables in play there.

I feel like around Augusta National, what makes the golf course so special is always the opportunity to pull off a great shot. I think that style of golf is a bit more exciting than just your typical event where you hit in the rough, and you see guys playing the same shot each time where they are just kind of hacking it out of the rough.

At Augusta, there's a lot of run-off areas and closely mown areas around the green, and there's opportunity to play great shot, but also severe punishments for playing the wrong shot as well.

Q. First of all, what's the burger place here? I need to hit it up.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Burger House.

Q. Check it out. My question is: You seem, compared to your peers that have had incredible success, maybe a little bit more uncomfortable with the spotlight that comes with being a two-time Masters champ and being No. 1 in the world. There's so much that goes along with that. Why do you think that is? Do you agree with that, and if so, why do you think you're maybe a little bit more uncomfortable than some of your peers with things like that?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I'm not sure I understand the question.

Q. It seems like being No. 1 in the world, there's so many obligations and so many things that go along with that, and some people seem like they really enjoy that, enjoy doing all that. And sometimes you seem like I don't enjoy it as much. Curious why you feel like you don't enjoy that spotlight as much as some of the other guys.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Still not entirely sure I know what you're asking.

When I'm on the golf course, I think playing in front of the fans and being able to compete, I feel like playing in front of a lot of fans for me is a lot of fun when I play tournaments.

As far as off-the-course stuff, like my goal was definitely never to be a famous person. I just love playing golf. That's the part of the job that comes with it, and yeah, not really totally sure what to say.

Q. How hard is it to balance now being a famous person with not really ever wanting that, I guess?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Kind of just live my life. I don't really have, like a strategy for it. I kind of do the things that I normally would do, and sometimes people recognize me and sometimes people don't.

I think when it comes to being a "famous person," there's certain people that care about the game of golf and a heck of a lot of people that don't care about the game of golf. There's lots of different ways that I can do things. I don't necessarily feel like a famous person.

So like when I go out in public, I'm not walking into a room being, like, Oohh, I wonder who is going to recognize me here; am I going to have to do this or do that. I'm just going out to eat dinner with my wife.

So we are just going to go sit at a table and eat dinner. And if somebody comes up and asks for a picture, and you know, if they are polite or nice about it, and maybe our meal is over, I'll say yes. But if we are in middle of the conversation or something, I'll be like, Hey, sorry, right now I'm eating dinner with my wife.

I'm not really sure how to answer the question to be honest with you because I don't really feel like a famous person. We just kind of live our life. And I have my friends I grew up with, and I have great friend here at home that we hang out and go out to dinner and do things that normal people do, you know what I mean. I'm not going to party.

I just live here in Dallas where I grew up and I just hang out with my friends when I'm not playing golf. We have fun.

Q. Wondering if you've had a chance to play Augusta National in recent weeks or since the big storm that came through about six months ago, and can that change anything playability-wise for you?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I haven't scene or heard really anything about the course. I've never been a guy that goes there for like much throughout the year. I've done it maybe once or twice in my career.

I understand the storms were pretty devastating to the whole community. So I hope the community is getting rejuvenated and things are getting built back up. We'll see how the golf course plays.

I'm sure Augusta has got it the way they want it to be. So I wasn't too concerned for the golf course. But definitely our thoughts are with the community, and hopefully things are getting back to somewhat normal for them.

Q. What is your most memorable Masters before you were competing in them, watching as a kid, and why?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Oohh, that's a good question. Most memorable?

Q. Or your favorites.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, most memorable for me is probably the Tiger chip-in year. I remember I was watching with my dad. So we just remember seeing him hole that shot. I mean, I think that was the year -- did he beat DiMarco in a playoff that year?

Q. Yeah, 2005?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: 2005.

I guess my favorite memory, I had the opportunity when I was in high school, one of the kids on our high school team invited four or five of using to go to the Masters on Sunday, and we were there on the right side of the green when Bubba hit the shot out of the trees.

We had been on 16 most of the day, and my buddy who had the experience watching the tournament was like, Hey, just in case there's a playoff, let's move our chairs down to 10, and if people move out we can find a place to putt our chairs, and we ended up finding a spot. Instead of going up to 18 to watch, we just sat down there on 10 and waited for hopefully the playoff to continue, and we were fortunate to be on the side of the green to watch the shot come in.

I would say that would probably be one of my favorite memories. That was a really cool moment to witness in person.

Q. Those of us that were at TPC this past week noticed some frustration out of you that seemed a little bit out of character, and obviously the conditions were pretty treacherous. Wondering with the success you had, how difficult is it to manage those times when you are not on the run that you were on, so to speak, like last year, winning all those times? How do you handle that and how difficult is that to manage?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think any time you get frustrated on the golf course, especially a place like TPC Sawgrass, it's such a challenging place when you get the high winds. The wind have a tendency to swirl out there and controlling your golf ball in those types of winds can be very challenging.

And I think any time you're frustrated on the golf course, you're trying to manage your way around. And I felt like at times last week I had a really good job of that, and at times I let frustration get the better of me. That's part of it. That's why I say I feel like I learned a good amount this year.

Any time you struggle you're always able to pick up on little things you could have done differently. There were some things I probably could have done a little bit differently last week, and maybe changed a little bit of my results. But at the end of the day, I just didn't think I had good enough stuff last week to get the job done.

Q. And just the other thing, unrelated, obviously the Masters Tournament will be the first time since last British that all the top players will be in the same place and obviously that only happens four times a year. How much do you miss that and not having the game with the top players playing more often against each other, do you miss that, and if so, what did you miss most about it?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I definitely miss the competition. I miss -- they got some pretty good players on their tour.

I still think the PGA TOUR has by far the best players in the world. The depth of our fields and the competition that we have is still hands down the best competition that there is in the game of golf. That's why I'm still playing on the TOUR is I love the competition.

I wish some of those guys had stayed, but at the end of the day, they made their choice. They knew the consequences of that decision, and I'm not here to change their minds. I hold no ill will towards any of those guys that left. They did what they wanted to do, and you know, I can't control their life. I'm not going to sit here and say they should have done something differently. They made their choice.

If we want to figure out why the game of golf is not back together, go ask those guys. Go to wherever they are playing this week and figure out when the game is going to come back together. We'll see.

Q. I'm kind of curious, also, on the food front what is "Papa Chef meatballs"? Are you "Papa" now that you're a papa or is that your dad? Your grandma? Who is that?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Papa Chef is my dad. For some reason, Meredith always called him Papa Chef. I don't know how she came up with that, but it ended up being his grandparent name.

So that's what our nephew, Hayes, is old enough to talk, that's what he calls him; and Lollie is my mom, that's her grandma name; and Papa Chef is my dad's grandpa name. His meatballs were the best growing up.

Any time he made them, we were all jacked up about it. Thought it would be fun to put them on the menu this year, and the raviolis were a nice touch as well.

Q. Was there a round where you were feeling unhappy with and you rushed off to work with Randy, and if so, what did you guys find?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: When?

Q. At the Masters.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That I rushed off? Do you have something in mind? Because I'm not totally sure.

Q. I might be confused with something else.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Rushed off? My memory of things is not great. If you have got something in mind -- what are you remembering? Maybe that will help trigger my memory.

Q. Maybe I'm confused it and it was something else. I thought you talked about it some other way down the road.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: When Randy was around at tournaments and there's something I'm feeling that's a little bit off, I'm definitely not afraid to go to the range and practice after, especially early in my career.

I would go to the range. It would be part of my normal routine would be going to the range after the round. As my career has gone on, and I have less time throughout the day, that's become a less typical part of the routine. Just because the obligations that come with me playing in tournaments is different than when I first came out.

When I first came out, I could go out to the course for ten hours in a day and not think ten hours about it because I could just practice. I didn't really have to do any of the things that come with going to golf tournaments now.

So I have to be a little bit more careful about how I spend my time. And so sometimes rest is more important than it was for me early in my career.

Q. What do you consider your best and worst shots ever at Augusta National?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Gosh, I have no idea. What would be my best shot? My best shot. I remember in 2022, I hit some pretty amazing pitch shots, like my short game was really sharp that week. I guess, yeah, the pitch-in on 3, I'd have to go with one of my best shot, just with the importance at that point in the tournament -- sorry, the pitch-in on 3 Sunday of '22, I would say, would be the most consequential shot that I hit at Augusta.

But even on that day, like I remember the shot that made me feel the most comfortable was my 5-iron into No. 5, which was one of the like, flushest iron shots that I've hit. So between those two, I'd say it would be pretty close.

As far as my worst shot, and I'm sure I've rinsed a few balls there, I don't know.

Q. Miss at 18?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, 4-putt on 18, yeah, that's a good one (laughing).