THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 21, 2020

Scottie Scheffler

TPC Boston

Press Conference

CHRIS REIMER: 12th time a player has shot a sub-60 round on the PGA TOUR. How special was today and maybe some comments just overall about what it felt like out there.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, today was obviously a good day on the course. I got off to a really good start. Made a bunch of birdies on the front nine. Had some key up-and-downs at the beginning of the round that kind of got me rolling, freed me up a little bit. Then the momentum just kind of kept going. Never really lost momentum which was nice. A lot of times when you're playing well you can lose that momentum towards the end of the round or have a hiccup here or there. The momentum stayed the whole time and I made a lot of putts.

CHRIS REIMER: Can you talk us through holes 16 through 18; as it became more clear that you had a chance, what you faced on those three holes, key shots.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, so on 16, they moved the tee box up. It was kind of an in-between number for me, but I hit a nice 9-iron behind the pin and made another great putt from eight, ten feet, kind of a tough read.

17, I keep pulling that tee shot. I've hit that tee shot so many times and I continue to pull it to the left and cheat the corner and hit it over there somehow, and did it again today and was in a good position down there. Got a little flyer out of the rough and then had a nice two-putt there, first putt just hit it a little too hard and kind of chased out more than I thought.

On 18, just try to hit the ball in the fairway and get on the green, so I had an easy two-putt.

You know, I actually hit a pretty good shot in there with the second shot. It was kind of out of the rough, a little hot lie. I was surprised it stopped as quick as it did. Hit a great lag putt and a nice little 4-footer there to knock it in.

Q. 18 in particular, what club did you hit for your second and I'm mostly curious about your decision-making in that anything it seems like at that green, if it goes over, makes 4 really difficult. Were you purposely trying to keep it left?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think we had 237 pin out of the first cut. The lie had a chance to be a little hot but we had like 211 front and trying to land it about 220 which keeps us obviously short of the pin. You aren't going to get that much roll, maybe five, ten paces of role and the shot came off nice.

The wind didn't help as much as I thought it was going to be and it was really soft there at the front. I was surprised with how soft the front of the green was but definitely we were trying to keep it short of the hole, which we did. It would have been nicer if it got a little closer but all in all it was the place omission.

Q. Did you mention the club?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: 5-iron.

Q. And on the putt, you had a lot of time waiting on Tony, waiting on Kevin. Any more nervous over a 4-footer than you usually might be?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, you don't really get a putt for 59 often, so I was quite nervous over the putt, but that's nothing new. I get nervous over every shot. That's just playing competitive golf. But I didn't feel like I had to wait very long on 18. Kevin had that bad break and then a ruling, so it didn't really feel like too much to.

Q. What were you and Tony chatting about? At some point, 59 has to start entering your mind. Where did it occur to you?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I wouldn't say the thoughts are too negative because it keeps fighting you to make birdies, instead of, you know, being complacent and settling for whatever I was at and I actually missed a putt today on 13 for birdie, and it kind of clicked. I was like, oh, man, that would have been a nice one to go in because I was playing really good at that point. Kind of clicked like, hey, you know, I have a chance to do something pretty cool today and got rolling again pretty quick on 14, 15, 16, and made a great birdie on 18, as well. I wouldn't say those thoughts are negative at all. You obviously put them in the back of your head when you're hitting shots and stuff but as far as thinking about it, it's not necessarily a negative because it encourages me to continue to make birdies.

Q. Did you and your caddie just talk about it or did it --

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's all -- yeah, all in my head. It was just coming in and out and like hey, it would be cool, just keep playing aggressive and keep trying to make birdies. I wouldn't say I was thinking about it the whole time but it crossed my mind now and then for sure.

Q. Had you shot one at home?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I shot one in the quarantine a few months ago, but other than that, no.

CHRIS REIMER: Overall, this puts you in pretty good position now for the week, clearly, but now your goals for the rest of week and the FedExCup Playoffs?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I don't tend to set very many -- or too many long-term goals, and so as far as the next couple days go, I put myself in a good position to play well this weekend and win the tournament, and so I'm just going to continue to try to play well and hit good shots and see where that leaves me. Not really over-think things.

I definitely wanted to get off to a good start going into this week and didn't do that yesterday and today really, really helped. I thought it was going to take me a long time to get anywhere close to the need and it was nice to get almost all of it back in one day.

Q. What was the scenario behind the quarantine 59?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: We were playing a socially distanced wolf game with a few of my buddies from Royal Oaks at Texas Rangers Club towards the end when things were loosening up at home. We had a few groups that day. Went out on our individual carts and had some fun. A, few of my roommates were out there playing.

I didn't know I shot 59 at the time. We were riding home and I was like, kind of adding everything up -- because we were playing well. I wasn't thinking about score. I was just kind of going out and playing, and we were thinking about it on the way home and I counted it up like ten times probably and I texted the guy who kept the score, and he actually got my score wrong on 17 and I had something else wrong at the beginning of the round. So I don't know how we both messed it up but figured it out later. It was fun.

Q. Did you birdie 18 to shoot 59 that round?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Eagled.

Q. How far?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Like a 20-footer.

Q. Was it strange at all to chase this historic feat without having fan support?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, for sure. To be completely honest, there was nobody out there watching our group until I think 17 some cameras showed up. So we were pretty much just out there having fun, hanging out. Just playing golf, really. There was not too much thinking going on for us. We were just kind of -- everybody is in their own little world trying to do what they are doing. Wasn't too much activity.

Q. How do you think the nerves on that 4-footer, or even the 90-footer before that, compared to the times you've won golf tournaments?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I would say pretty equivalent. You don't ever really get too many opportunities to shoot a 59, so to be able to finish the job is really cool, and I definitely was nervous, very nervous over both those shots and coming down the stretch, but I think it helped me focus a little bit more.

Q. You mentioned a couple of key up-and-downs early in the round and momentum and stuff like that. Curious where they were?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: So I had a really nice one. On 2, I hit a good drive down the fairway can got a weird click off a downslope and hit my second shot, and I ended up with probably a 30-yard bunker shot off an upslope into the wind with water long; and so not a very comfortable shot at all, and I actually hit it in there like 3 1/2 feet and tapped it in for birdie which was great.

On 3, I was pin-high left, kind of a tricky little spot from a weird lie.

Hit a nice chip to about six inches and then on 4 another great up-and-down. Hit it just over the green in the rough which is like one of the only places you can't hit it there. And I hit a nice little bump-and-run up the slope to about six feet and knocked that in. So got off to a quick start with those three up-and-downs. Those were key for sure.

Q. Two of them for birdie?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah.

Q. And for a lot of pretty good shots, is there any one that stands out, and why?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I wouldn't say one of them stands out too much. I hit a lot of great shots today, so it's hard to pick one, but I think if I was to say the key shots were probably the ones at the beginning, just getting the day going. It's weird when you're sitting outside of the cut line at the beginning of the day knowing I've got to shoot probably 3-, 4-under just to make the cut. Getting off to a good, quick start was definitely key and I just kept that momentum going the whole day.

Q. You just mentioned it clicked on 13 but then you saw the cameras coming in middle of the the round. Was there a point where you say, oh, man, they noticed, and does it change how you kind of go about things or was it just interesting seeing more and more people trickle in?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: To be completely honest, I didn't see a camera until 17. So I didn't really think anybody was paying attention to be completely honest with you. But no, it doesn't change what I'm doing. I was really just trying to make as many birdies as I can and move up the leaderboard as much as possible because there's going to be a lot of birdies this week.

Q. What do you think the PGA performance did for you?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, it was a great experience out there in San Francisco. First major being part of the Tour is a little different than kind of showing up, like I played the U.S. Open last year when I was on the Web.com Tour. It didn't feel as normal, and so playing my first one being a member of the TOUR was a little different. I felt much more comfortable. You're seeing the same guys every week, and I played really solid.

I felt like I gave myself a really good chance to win on Sunday. I just didn't hole a lot of putts. I hit it great on Sunday. Was very calm and I struck it really well. The putts just weren't falling. It wasn't meant to be that day but I definitely took some confidence from that knowing I hit it plenty good to win that golf tournament.

Q. How do you think that can help you for this weekend?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, for sure. Definitely give me some confidence. Had a good thought process last week, so looking forward to doing the same thing this weekend. Just staying relaxed and trying to hit as many good shots as I can.

Q. If it's not too much trouble, I wonder if you can give us the club selection on your 42 birdies or however many it was. We can get the distance off ShotLink but clubs you hit on 10, 11, your birdie holes?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: So on 10, I hit kind of a punch 9-iron.

Q. What did you hit off the tee?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: 3-iron, 9-iron.

Then 11, I hit a nice kind of choke-down 3-iron low, chased it up the slope.

14, hit a 7-iron out of a really hot lie in the rough. Driver, 7-iron. It was a super-hot lie.

15 was 3-wood, 50-degree.

16 was a 9-iron.

And then 18 was 3-wood, 5-iron.

Q. And then on 2? That was a wedge?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: 2 was a 6-iron and then a 50-degree out of the bunker.

4 was driver up to the green-side.

5 was a driver, 9-iron.

6 was driver,8 iron.

And 7 was driver, 3-wood.

And then 9 was driver, 7-iron.

CHRIS REIMER: Congratulations. Great round and good luck the rest of the weekend. Thanks for taking the time.