U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2020

September 18, 2020

Xander Schauffele

Winged Foot Golf Club

Flash Interview

Q. 2-under 72; Xander, maybe not how you liked to finish, but over December all great round today. Talk us through it.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, 17 and 18 are hard holes, kind of down cut-ish wind, and bogey-bogey sucks anywhere. I said that earlier, it still sucks, but I didn't shoot myself out of it. I could have easily made -- 17 was going to be a par or bogey all day, but 18 I could have sort of made a mess of things, and all I was trying to do was give myself something inside 10 feet for par, and I was close to doing that.

Overall, I think we're right there.

Q. How did the wind change things today?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, the wind makes any -- the wind can make a par-3 course difficult, so put that on a U.S. Open setup, it's going to be even more so. It's firming up the greens a little bit, and the pins are in trickier spots. It'll be a fun afternoon to watch on TV.

Q. I don't know how much attention you pay to some of the other guys, but there were a bunch of guys who were up on the leaderboard and playing good rounds and all struggled down the stretch this morning. Do you watch that and kind of take some encouragement from that, especially looking at what the wind is going to do this afternoon?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I don't really like to feed off of other people's problems. I try to handle my own business. It's sort of what I was taught to do, let the clubs talk, and that's what we'll continue to do.

I think it's going to be a little bit cooler the next two days, so the ball will be flying a little shorter. It might be damp in the morning, as well, so the rough will play more difficult. I think if the greens firm up, it's going to be sort of what everyone here at Winged Foot wanted.

Q. You mentioned Austin sending you a Tweet or a story last night or this morning. What were you expecting when you got to the golf course today?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I mean, I'm sure they're going to agree on some sort of happy medium. I'm sure the super wanted to crank the SubAir on and leave it on all night, but with the wind blowing right now, it's sort of a topical sort of SubAir, and I expect it to be more difficult, and it sure was, and kind of scraped away or kind of pissed away what could have been a really good round, but overall I'm in a good spot.

Q. Do you think yesterday was too easy?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: No. Too easy is not really it, honestly. I think relative for this place, you know, some would say, and I'm sure the super and the staff here felt that. But I don't know how many guys shot under par, but I felt like I played my ass off yesterday and I barely shot under par, and today really felt like a U.S. Open; I can tell you that.

Q. Clearly you aren't happy finishing bogey-bogey, and I certainly understand that, but do you want it to get harder?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It doesn't bother me. The more strategy -- those 10-footers for par are really important. It's a U.S. Open; we get it once a year where it's a gouge-fest, and if it gets harder, so be it.

Q. People have talked for years about loving to watch you guys suffer at the highest level. When you were a kid watching the U.S. Open, were you one of those sick people?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I'm probably just a sick person that enjoys doing it, playing in it. I don't really remember watching too many U.S. Opens growing up, honestly, but in more recent years watching it, yeah, I thought it was -- you've got to be really good at everything. You've got to get lucky. You and your caddie have to have a really good plan. It's just the full package. I think that's why winning a U.S. Open is so rewarding.

Q. What's the one shot on 18 that irritates you the most?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: The tee shot. It's really -- you can set yourself up for a decent birdie look. Hitting it left is basically like hitting it in a water hazard almost with the rough and the trees there. It was either a hack-out right of the green, trying to get up-and-down or chip out 45 yards and try and leave yourself a full wedge you can spin down to the pin. That tee shot, yeah, was no bueno.

Q. What were some of the hole locations that required extra attention today?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Oh, man, my caddie would be great at this, but I honestly am not great with -- if I sat down with the holes I would know and I could tell you, but for the most part it really is -- there were a few out there where you're playing defense all the way through, even from the fairway, and once you're in the rough, it doesn't matter if you're in the first cut or -- sorry, second cut or deep rough here, you're looking at how can I make par.