MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 10, 2021

Xander Schauffele

Quick Quotes

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it was nice. My dinner will taste a little better. I had a few putts coming down the stretch, one on 16 and up-and-down on 17 and another one on 18. So it wasn't quite as nice as Hideki's cleanup there on the last few holes, but I'll take it.

Q. Can you describe what you did on 18, how you made par?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I just -- I thought it was 3-wood all day off the tee. Bunkers are 290 out. So 3-wood, kind of pushed it right, caught some limbs, and figured if I could get it over that first bunker to avoid a 50-yard bunker shot, that would be key. I was hoping to hit a better chip, but fortunately, I hit a good putt.

Q. Do you know the patron who saved your ball?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: He said he hit his -- I would have actually rather have had it go further up the hill. But it was a good spot. He said it hit his chair leg.

Q. What was it like being out there, especially when you guys were on 15? You and Hideki, I don't know if you were aware, for around 90 seconds you tied for the lead, Justin took the lead, Hideki took the lead. Are you aware of any of that?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: That's why this tournament is great. I think that's why it's a viewing pleasure for most. I was not aware. I was happy to make my 60-foot eagle putt on 15. I knew Hideki was going to make his. I was just trying to stay in touch.

Q. How were things different after the restart?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Just softer, softer and slower. It was almost -- the tricky part was probably hitting your putts hard enough. I think Hideki kind of was an example of that on 13. Hit a great iron shot in there. Normally you'd kind of just touch your putt, it gets feeding down that hill and it's an easy two-putt. Now you're sort of looking down at the creek there and you have to hit your putt hard coming down the hill. It was a challenge in a different way.

Q. You were talking with us about the near misses and how frustrated you've been. What have you learned from the experiences that you'll take into it?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's all part of the process. I'm a huge fan of putting myself in position with nine holes to go and learning from each and every mistake and also the things I did well in those moments. So looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. What did you learn from 2019 here at the Masters? How can that help you tomorrow?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: That was, to me, a nice rookie mistake I made. Just got caught up in the moment. I'm glad it happened sooner than later in my career, and I think I can learn from that.

Q. What's it like to play with a guy like Hideki? He's so dialed in.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's nice. It's moving day. It's Saturday. You want to play with someone who's going to shoot 7-under. You hope that it's yourself, and if not you chase. You'd rather play with someone that's shooting 65 than shooting 74. It was nice to chase after him. He's an incredible iron player. This is a great course for him. I think he has a great record out here at Augusta National, and obviously he showed it this afternoon.

Q. Talk about the control you have over your golf ball.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Very. I think I'm playing good golf. I was excited for today. After yesterday, some of my iron shots I was able to hit, and I'm excited for tomorrow as well.

Q. Was there any conversation between you and Hideki today?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I know a little bit of Japanese, so I threw my few words here and there that I could.

Q. What's that?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Oh, just some proper words, nothing -- some bad ones too, unfortunately. I'm not going to say now, but him and Shota are great. They're a fun group to play with.

Q. Where did you learn Japanese?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: My grandparents lived in Japan.