MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 6, 2021

Xander Schauffele

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, it's our pleasure to welcome Xander Schauffele to the interview room this afternoon. Xander, thank you for your time.

You've gotten off to a wonderful start this year with five Top-10 finishes including consecutive runner-ups at Torrey Pines and Phoenix. Tell us about what's going well for you this year and how that's going to help you this week.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it's been a, I guess, more consistent time for me this season. That was sort of a goal of mine, my rookie year, I won twice, but it was sort of an up-and-down year, and I figured I'd have more fun if I was a little bit more consistent. And now that I've been more consistent, I just want to win tournaments.

So it's kind of been a funny situation for me. I think watching Jordan Spieth win last week was really inspiring. Everybody knows how good he was and how good he is, and he proved it last week, and the up and downs and the patience he's shown.

Yeah, I'm having a good year, and definitely looking forward to this week.

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back. You've enjoyed some success your last two trips here with a runner-up finish in 2019 and then a Top-20 finish back in November. What is it that you've kind of learned from that or you think you'll carry forward and help you be successful this year?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I mean, two completely different Masters, obviously last one being in November and the one on the normal calendar, sort of this feels more normal now. Like I said, I think 20-under wasn't really the number everyone was looking for in November, so I can see the course is firm, it's fast, and it's playing sort of to my memory and sort of what I've seen on TV historically. So kind of remembering old lines and sort of how to attack holes in a patient way.

Q. When you think of playing in the Masters, what is the first and foremost memory that comes to your mind?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Like in general, just any -- just showing up on property?

Q. What moment stands out to you when someone asks you about playing the Masters?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: You know, I've had some success here, but for some reason I see Tiger and I see red. I don't know why that is. But when someone says "the Masters," it's either, you know, Jack and yellow or Tiger and red. I'm looking forward to creating some memories myself here on property. But until then, it's sort of what I think about when someone says "the Masters."

Q. What color shirt are you wearing on Sunday?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I don't know what's scripted by Adidas, but I can look it up later.

Q. Are you more proud of the fact that you are rarely out of the Top-10 in the World Ranking or more irritated that you only have four and a half wins?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Thanks for the half there.

It's a good progression. I think I'd much rather be a consistent player. Golf consists of a bunch of losers, unfortunately. There's only one guy that wins every week, and that's how sports works. I think for my mental sanity it would be helpful for me to be a more consistent player.

But yeah, you always want what you don't have, and I haven't won in quite some time here. You mentioned my half-win, which doesn't feel like a full one. Just looking -- trying to stay as patient as possible and keep doing what I'm doing.

Q. You used a lot of words that other people are using, which are "firm" and "fast." Taking November out of the equation, does it feel like it felt in 2019 or even more fiery?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I think it has the potential to be even crazier. When I say "crazier," I mean faster and firmer. A few of the holes today were already really dry, and it's only Tuesday. Normally those are conditions you kind of see on Saturday and Sunday.

So we're expecting some rain Thursday and Friday, which, you know, warrants the firmness on Tuesday. But for whatever reason, if the rain doesn't come, then it will be really fun.

Q. So on a scale of scorable to torture, like where do you fall in terms of preference?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I think every guy who plays professional is a little bit of a masochist, so I'm here for the torture, and my caddie and I will do our best if it gets really tough.

Q. In your fourth Masters, what has changed about how you approach the golf course compared to your first one?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Just the level of comfort. I think I have a few shots off memory that I can kind of fall back on. Kind of just playing any tournament multiple times, you sort of -- especially when you fortunately play well at the property or course, you have certain memories that you can feed off moving forward.

I'd say I'm more comfortable on property. I've learned to not get stuck on the range on Monday and Tuesday. It's just a really cool place with the facilities and just being here at Augusta National; that as a kid, you dream of being here, and once you get here, you can hang out till dark every day, and then by the time Thursday comes, you're completely burned out. So I've been trying to drag myself off property most of these days. Hence this 4:15 media time which has cut my hard practice right there.

Q. What's something people might not realize about how difficult Augusta National is?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: How sloping and undulating the property is. I don't know the exact number, but from the clubhouse down to the 12th hole or 12th green, it's an incredible drop. On TV, it doesn't do it justice in terms of sort of how like gnarly and how incredibly difficult some of the pins are on the greens. If you are in the wrong spot, it can make a world-class player look like a fool pretty quickly. I'd just say the slope and the overall layout of the property.

Q. Obviously you're looking at this Masters, but how have you approached this season knowing the U.S. Open is at Torrey Pines and not trying to look ahead to that?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: By trying to not look too far ahead. I try to practice and prep for each week. Every week is different. Every golf course is different. There's so many variables that come into each tournament that the only constant I can have is my team, how we prepare and the mentality we bring each week.

It's easy to look too far ahead. I've been very aware the U.S. Open was going to be at Torrey Pines since I was a little kid. My dad and I talked and dreamt about playing in it. Getting the monkey off the back and playing well at the Farmers Insurance was really important for me looking forward. So I kind of put that nightmare to rest for the moment, and just like my whole motto is sort of one day at a time. It's really hard to do at times, but that's what we try and do on my team.

Q. What was so inspiring about Jordan [Spieth] winning?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: For me personally, he's a very honest person. He's very open with his process. He talked to you guys a lot about what he was doing and how he was messing up or what he wasn't doing correctly, and I think it's pretty special for someone like Jordan to do that.

Doing what he did at such a young age and rattling off major championships, I'd say he somewhat filled Tiger's shoes when Tiger was gone. As a young man, was very difficult. And for him to be super open about his whole process was pretty special. I think that's just the way he is, and that's a blessing for everyone else to kind of learn from.

Him talking through his process of good and bad, it was really cool for me to see, and I've followed it. I've always been a fan of his, him being Class of 2011, always leading the way with Justin Thomas and a bunch of other guys.

I've always looked at his game and his mentality and how he handles things. I thought it was special the way he won last week.

Q. Are you that way at all or would you want to be?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: He's a little more vocal than I am. He's more vocal than a lot of guys, you know what I mean. I'm the opposite of him. But that's how he ticks. You know, everyone out here has got their way and style of doing it. If someone told me if I talked to my golf ball more, I'd win more majors, I'd be yelling at my golf ball this week. There's no right or wrong way to do it. Like I said, pretty happy for him and his team.

Q. Can you give us an example of lines you've been taking?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's not so much -- when I said lines, I was more speaking of sort of misses, I guess. There's a lot of holes where the miss is not obvious on property, you know, when you take the low point of the course and sort of -- like 4, for example, the par 3, when the pin is left, if you can go left of the pin somehow, left of the green, the bunker, anywhere left is actually fine. And when you're around the hole, it sets you up to the middle of the green. That right bunker is very inviting. But you'd much rather be somewhere left in the bunker chipping up the hill. If you can leave yourself an uphill chip or an into-the-wind chip at any time, it's the most important thing.

It's a reminder sort of each time I play here it gets more and more comfortable, like a home course, almost, to where when you play at home with your friends, you don't really think much about, oh, it's a back left pin; if I go long, I'm dead.

Out here, I haven't played here enough to really process that quick enough. So I'm sitting here, I have a headache after 18 holes because I'm trying to really plot my way around the property, and that's what I was talking about when I was talking about lines.

Q. Everyone has watched this tournament dozens of times before setting foot on property. Does that help when you get here because you feel familiar with the holes, or does it hurt because you feel like there's a way you should play the holes versus discovering your own way to play best?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I'm sorry, can you repeat that. I didn't catch the first part of your question.

Q. You arrive here for the first time. You've seen the golf course a dozen times on TV. Is that helpful because you feel familiar with it, or can that be harmful because you feel like there's a conventional wisdom of how to play a hole instead of you allowing to find your own way to play it?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It seems to be -- I played the last two days with Freddie Couples. I try to speak to guys who have won here and played well here, and they all seem to sort of have similar advice. So I kind of base it, like the conventional sort of wisdom they give is good enough for me; if it worked for them, it's probably good enough.

There are, you know -- in terms of hitting the fairways and certain things like that, Bubba has proven there are several ways to shape it around the property. But around the greens and attacking certain pins, seems to be kind of a one-way street. If you're trying to do something crazy, you can go at certain pins. But for the most part, par is good to certain pins on certain days.

Q. What will you focus on tomorrow?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: For me, it's always I try and make sure everything feels pretty good. I feel like I'm in a pretty decent place. Short game is the biggest knock I give myself. Any time I feel like I should have won a tournament or I kind of pissed a few shots away coming down the stretch, it's always been chipping or pitching where I feel like a top player would get that up-and-down with ease and end up winning the tournament, where I'm sitting there stressing out a bit.

It's something I've been very aware of in my game. And it's a statistic that if I can improve, it will make my life a little bit easier.

Q. How did the rounds with Freddie get set up, and what specifically does he teach you, or do you just learn by following him around?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I ask him questions. I mean, you can learn how to be chill and cool from Freddie. He gives off that vibe, and I appreciate it. It's a Southern California kind of kid vibe.

I looked up to Freddie. He was an assistant coach or captain on the Presidents Cup team, and him and Patrick, we all just played, Max Homa joined us on Monday, so it was very much a So Cal-ish team, I guess, there on Monday, and today it was just Pat, Freddie and I.

But I'll ask him certain specifics on certain pin locations and what he's seen over the years and what he thinks is the best way to attack a pin. Even if I know the answer, I'll ask him just for affirmation or some positive reinforcement for myself so when I get to the hole, I'm not thinking about trying to punch it through the trees and hitting this crazy shot on the green through two bunkers. It's hit it in the bunker and get it up-and-down, you know what I mean, so it's pretty simple.

Q. Have you picked up speed?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I don't know. I have. I really have. I haven't been trying to do this crazy driving distance thing. I got COVID and that's been my story. I've gotten drug tested. My driver has gotten tested. No one wants to believe that I can hit it a certain distance, I guess. Call it random or whatever you want, but yeah, I'm hitting it further for whatever reason, and I'm not mad about it.

Q. You mentioned Jordan being very open about his game. Rory has, as well, particularly with the swing changes he made because of what he saw Bryson do at U.S. Open. What do you make of that? Are there lessons to be gleaned after seeing what Rory has gone through?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it's not surprising that people are chasing and doing the distance thing. I was going to be in that boat floating with everyone in December, but I got COVID. So maybe it was a blessing in disguise; I couldn't speed train when I was sitting there laying in bed.

I don't know if that was your question, but Rory being so open about his process, he kind of is the same way. He's not as vocal on the course as Jordan is, but he is in this room, as well; he'll give you his opinion if you ask for it.

Bryson had success chasing distance. He's the longest guy I think. I mean, to me, obviously Bryson is very impressive in what he's done. But Rory equally or more so. He's a hundred pounds less than Bryson or 70 pounds less, and he was out-driving him on certain holes or keeping up with him on certain holes.

I know Bryson has another year, but that was pretty impressive that Rory was able to not really change too much and start clocking in the mid-190s, ball speed.

It's not for everyone, like I said. Everyone's got their game and how they play, and Bryson's, his included, and can calculate, I guess, better what the number is and how far he's trying to hit it, where Rory was open about how it sort of was not as productive for certain aspects of his game hitting it a mile. It's really fun to watch when guys can fly it 350. But like I said, it's -- would I like to fly it 350? Yeah, on some holes I would love to, but at the end of the day I don't know what it would do to my short game or anything like that.

Q. Are you surprised a guy like Rory, more successful than Bryson, would chase that?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: In all honesty, not really. I think Bryson said he was going to do exactly what he did. He said he was going to -- screw everyone, I'm going to put on a bunch of weight, I'm going to hit it further than everybody and I'm going to make the U.S. Open look like a pitch-and-putt.

I hate to say it, but the USGA sort of played the tournament right into his hands. They thought they could make the fairways small and hard to hit and the rough really long. But that -- you know, Bryson was sitting there licking his chops, and I would have been, too, if I was him and I can fly it 25 yards further than everyone else and I can hit a lob-wedge from 140 yards out of the rough.

Hats off to him. That's exactly what he did and he won by a lot, and he made it look very easy.

I'm not too surprised that Rory chased that because I think Rory, he knows he can hit close to that same distance and kind of overpower a course like he can, as well.

Q. How do you think the USGA will react and adjust, particularly this U.S. Open?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: They are already reacting. They are going to limit the driver. Talking about making the clubhead smaller. There's a whole lot of discussion about what's going on over there. They will find a way to Tiger-proof everything.

Q. With the added length, are there any holes this week that you find yourself playing different than normal, especially compared to November?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Me personally?

Q. Yeah.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I mean, it's not like I'm hitting it a whole lot further. I feel like my baseline speed is a couple miles an hour faster, and if that means me flying it 289 or 291, I'm flying it 298. I haven't made this massive gain like the other boys have where they sit there and look at a bunker at 315 and are like, yeah, it's downwind right now; yeah, it's one o'clock, I can fly it over the bunker. I'm not there. I'm looking right or left of it.

Q. If not for the COVID and everything that happened during your abbreviated off-season, where would you be aiming as far as adding distance and speed?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's a good question. I think it was a good lesson for me. There's certain people in my team, one I can think of that's always trying to make sure I don't change too much. He's been my coach the whole life. I've only had one. That guy is also my dad unfortunately.

But yeah, his goal is to make sure that I have what I have and we try, and chip we away at certain parts of my game to make it better.

And chasing distance, like Rory said, can be a trap at times. And it worked for Bryson, but it's not for everyone. I'm more Rory's stature. I'm not 6-1. You know, Bryson's wrists are probably as thick as my forearms. He can do things that I can't do, and I have to accept that and find my own path. I'm probably not going to chase the distance game.

THE MODERATOR: Xander, thank you very much and best of luck this weekend.