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THE GREENBRIER CLASSICJuly 9, 2017Xander SchauffeleWhite Sulphur Springs, West Virginia JOHN BUSH: We would like to welcome the 2017 champion of the Greenbrier classic, Xander Schauffele. Xander, what an incredible finish out there. You birdied two out of the last three holes and I know an iron shot on number 18 that you'll remember for a long time. If we could just get some comments on your first victory. XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it's slowly sinking in. I had a couple minutes to myself in the locker room, but it's just been an incredible feeling and it's honestly just a dream come true. JOHN BUSH: You move to number 27 in the FedExCup standings, setting yourself up really well as we head down the home stretch. Just comment about your goals the rest of the year. XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, besides winning, obviously East Lake, FedExCup playoffs are the main goal for most of the guys out here, I'm assuming and everyone that knows me knows I'm a late bloomer, so to jump in the Top-30 in this fashion is something special for me. JOHN BUSH: Questions? Q. Your experience at the U.S. Open, did that prepare you for a gut wrenching tournament like this? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, for sure. The U.S. Open was a huge moment in my career, it was one of the biggest stages and for me to kind of be calm and collected throughout the week and just kind of hang on and come in tied fifth was huge for me mentally, so it kind of gave me the confidence and allowed me to play and win this week. Q. Your tee shot on 18, were you having a big debate internally about club selection or were you pretty sure about which club you wanted to use? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I mean it was 57 front, 162 pin, there was a little bit of altitude up here, so my caddie and I, we looked at a pitching wedge and 9-iron and, under the gun, you never want to swing something soft, so we grabbed the pitching wedge real quick. Q. At the U.S. Open you told my colleague that people didn't really know who you were and you were signing autographs and they didn't recognize you. Do you think they will now? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I hope so. Q. Obviously, I think you went through WEB.COM, Q-School, straight away, you got through to this TOUR right away, and now you've done this right away. Did you expect to have that sort of road? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Interesting question. My dad did. He kind of put me on some plan of his and I would say we're trending, that's what he would say at least. I'm just happy to play the role. Q. He's your coach, right? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, he's my swing coach. Q. You're the third rookie to win this event and of the four people who qualified for The Open Championship Streb is the oldest at 30. I mean, this is, I mean, you've been the fourth rookie to win this year. This is a pretty good rookie class, isn't it? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, if you look at the 2011 graduates from high school or 2015 -- I guess most of them didn't go to college -- but 2011 graduates from high school, Spieth, Thomas, Berger, you name it, Jon Rahm, he's even younger than I am -- I hate to say it -- but, yeah, I mean, our class has always been really strong and I always joke with my buddies saying it's not cool to be 23 and on the PGA TOUR anymore since everyone that's been 22, 23, 24, they're all winning, so I guess kudos to them for kind of pushing me along. Q. I guess you know this Jon Rahm trashed the field at the Irish Open, right? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I did watch that for some motivation this morning. Q. Did you know exactly where you stood when you were hitting that tee shot on 18 and take us through your mindset right before you hit that shot. XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I did know. The tournament was so kind to put a giant leaderboard behind 17 or I guess in front of 17 green. I was trying not to look at it. I saw it. I saw that I was T-1, and so, yeah, I knew exactly what I was going into on the last hole of the. Q. Did you feel like you had to make a birdie given the guys were playing the par-5s behind you? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: In the practice round or in the third round you can always see the pin locations. I looked at it and looked at my caddie and I said, man, that is kind of brutal. I never thought that -- that birdie on 18 is not one that's going to come along very often, so I'm just very fortunate to do it. Q. Did you ever feel any nerves throughout the day and if so how did you calm yourself down? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, of course, I'm human, so I felt extremely nervous throughout the day. Not so much early in the round, felt kind of nervous starting on 16, 17. I wasn't nervous when I made the birdie on 16. When I was teeing off on 17 I was nervous. Fortunately, the fairway is very generous, so that was a nice one to let go. But yeah, I felt very nervous kind of late in the round. Q. (No Microphone.) XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I just, I tried to back to the basics, close my eyes and take some deep breaths. Q. You obviously did so well at the U.S. Open, now you've got the next three Majors coming up, including one for another jacket like that one. How do you feel about qualifying for that? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, being a rookie, my only goal was to just make the playoffs and maintain, just stay on the PGA TOUR. So to get the three or Majors is a bonus for me. I'll keep looking at it like that for now and hopefully that pays off. Q. I know it's still sinking in, but being a late bloomer as you termed it, just how validating is it to get that first win under your belt? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's incredible. Just to know that my team and I are, we're doing the right things and we can kind of push forward and hopefully just stay on the same track. Q. What did you think of the crowd here, West Virginia, they pretty receptive to you? Big roar on 18 and everything that you went through over the last four days. XANDER SCHAUFFELE: They're awesome. Just the tournament, I saw a tribute on West Virginia with Bubba and his wife and how much they have done for the community, it's a really strong foundation here in West Virginia and I feel very honored to win this week. Q. Is your last name mispronounced more or misspelled? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: (Laughter.) I would go 50/50. It's butchered in every which way since kindergarten. I'm used to it. Q. I was wondering, do you have any advice for maybe some kids that are coming up playing golf and what would you tell them? XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Oh, man, I was just a kid not too long ago. Yeah, I mean, just try and find good people to surround yourself with would probably be my first advice. JOHN BUSH: All right. I think that does it. Congratulations, Xander, once again, on winning the Greenbrier classic. XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Thanks very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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