PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 20, 2021

Xander Schauffele

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

Press Conference

Q. We are very happy to be joined by Xander Schauffele. Xander opened up with a 1-over 73 today. Considering the conditions that's not a bad position to be at. Looking at your card here, a few bogeys on the really tough 14th through 18th holes, but you played "Xander golf" everywhere else. Maybe talk about what you experienced out there today.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it was sort of what I expected. I wasn't hitting it all that great, so 1-over isn't the worst score. I didn't shoot myself out of it, which is a good thing. I think I missed one putt that I probably should have made, and after that it was kind of boring. I wasn't really the guy to make a lot of birdies today. I played with Viktor Hovland. He played really solid golf. It was really impressive to watch, and just trying to chase after him.

Q. Rickie Fowler and Zach Johnson both said independently that you have no weaknesses in your game. You might have felt one on a hole or two today but they're impressed with your game. Zach said I'm most impressed with his ability to move on shot-to-shot, hole-to-hole, and he asked the question, is that innate or do you work on that? What is the approach there?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I think it's just a choice. It's a really hard choice to make obviously after you play hole poorly or really well. It's something my dad and I have worked on a lot growing up. It's something he wanted me to watch other guys on Tour when I'd watch golf with him on Sundays. He'd tell me mainly to watch people's attitude, whether it was really good or really bad, and the few golf tournaments I went to go view, it was the same thing.

More than the swing and sort of anything else, he always wanted me to pay attention to the best players in the world and how they handled themselves.

Q. At that age was there anybody that you saw and modeled yourself after?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Rickie Fowler. He was really calm. He was calm, cool, collected. He was one of the guys I paid attention to, sort of how he handled tough situations, and if you just kind of look down the line, you're either someone that really shows a lot of heart and you'll get really upset and really happy or you'll be someone kind of down the middle of the road.

I'm not really one to throw up my arm fist pumping. Haven't gotten too excited yet on the golf course to do that. I hope that'll come some day, but for the most part it's just golf, and it's just a choice just to move on after a bad shot.

Q. How much is that choice tested after like 16 at Augusta? That's one of those moments that's really got to be tested.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, once again, like I said, some are easier than others. That was okay for me to move on just based on the fact that a bunch of caddies out here have come up to the other players, too, a guy that hits it shorter than I did came up to me and said he hit 8-iron there and it was fine.

It's just a tough situation. Like I said, I thought it through, I took what I could from the situation and moved on.

Q. I asked Rickie this question because he's been in this situation, too. When you're so consistently close in the majors, three top 10s in your last four majors, probably should have been four, when you're that close, is it apprehension or nervousness, or is it confidence building that you're always knocking on the door?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's confidence building for me. You look at the greats, their records, they didn't win -- they won a lot, but I don't know how many second-place finishes Jack Nicklaus had and Tiger had, or top 10s for that matter. I'm young. I'd love to win more at a young age, but there's a reason people talk about players hitting their prime when they're 35 or 40, because they've just been playing for so long and they know how to handle those tough situations we're talking about.

I'm trying to get ahead of the curve. A lot of young guys have done that, and I'm trying to be one of them.

Q. When I asked Zach, what do you think about when you think about his game and how competitive he is, his answer, "he's a stud." When is the last time somebody called you a stud?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I don't know if anyone ever has. I grew up in a European household, so stud is not really a word to use.

Q. Everybody is talking about 14 and 17. For a lot of players those are going to be key. How much are those par-3s a factor this week?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, they're just tough. They're not really something you look forward to. You're not sitting licking your chops going, I'm going to make a 2 here. You're sort of trying to find a way to make an easy 3 and not make a 5. You know, if you can avoid double bogeys this week, it would be very special. I'm not happy with the 4s on those holes, but for the most part -- I think on 14 I hit it over the green, which was a mistake leaving a chip downwind, but on 17 it wasn't a bad spot to be. I just hit a really bad bunker shot and that's sort of uncharacteristic.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for stopping by and have a terrific afternoon.