MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 7, 2022

Scottie Scheffler

Quick Quotes

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, all things considered it's a pretty solid round of golf. It's playing tough out there today with the winds being high like they were, and I think tomorrow's going to be an even bigger challenge.

Q. You talked about the other day playing last year with Tiger and Phil, I think it was the second round. Is there anything specifically that you saw them do that you thought, yes, that's what I need to do?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No, I would just say I kind of watched how they play shots. Tiger, I learned a lot playing with him, I think it was 2020 in the fall. Granted the golf course was a bit different. Then playing with Phil the first two rounds last year I definitely got some good experience, just kind of watching them play.

They're obviously both such talented golfers and have great experience around here. So I just learned a bunch from watching them.

Q. How's the energy out there compared from last year to today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, definitely a lot different. There was a lot more crowd noise. I think Tiger was a few groups of in front of us, so we definitely heard some noise. It was fun.

Q. Was it distracting at all?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No, it never really happened at a bad time, so not distracting.

Q. Did you ever hear it and wonder, oh, I wonder what he did?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: We heard it a couple times today. One of them was actually Joaquin's eagle on No. 9. We thought, oh, Tiger made a birdie, but it was Joaquin making an eagle.

Q. What was the singular biggest challenge out there for you today on the golf course?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I would say judging the wind for the most part and staying in the right spots. When the wind gets gusty like this around this golf course, it can blow from a lot of different directions. So just kind of managing your game and hitting the appropriate shots.

Q. What did you do particularly well?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I kept the ball in position pretty much most of the day. I got out of position a couple of times, and after that I got the ball back into play to somewhere where I could make a par. I had some really good par saves on the front nine that kept me going.

Q. How did it feel playing the Masters compared to your other Masters? You knew it was going to be different with people here. How would you describe the difference.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I would say just a lot more energy. Inside the ropes, it's pretty much the same. It's nice having the cheers and all that stuff, but at the end of the day, golf is the same whether someone is watching me or not.

Q. Coming in World No. 1. Any difference being in that position?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Not really. They didn't give me any extra shots or anything this week (laughter). So not too much. It's a tremendous honor to be ranked No. 1, but at the end of the day, I don't get any shots for it.

Q. You finished well your first two times here. Is this a golf course you were immediately comfortable on?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think it's really fun to play. Sometimes I have to watch myself around here because, for instance, on 15 today, I had an opportunity to hit a really cool shot that seemed like a lot of fun. Definitely wasn't the right play, so I didn't hit the shot.

Sometimes you've got to watch yourself because there's always something you can do. Especially a hole like 11, if you hit it over there on the right side, you can do something really cool, but you can get in trouble really quickly. Like I said, when I was out of position, I did a really good job of getting myself back in position and made some nice saves.

Q. What were you thinking about doing?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I could have hit a high soft like hook 3-wood, and the lie is set up for it, which is why I was going to try it. Luckily I've matured a little bit. If it was a practice round, I 100 percent would have hit the shot. But today I laid up and hit a decent wedge and missed the putt.

Q. Would 11 be maybe the best par of the day?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, which is a shame because I was in the middle of the fairway. I hit a really good tee ball there. Then we got the wind wrong coming into that green, and I was in a bad position. It's definitely one of the better up-and-downs I had for the day. It was pretty nice.

Q. What's on the board game schedule for tonight?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Probably Sequence again, depending on how late Sam finishes. We'll see.

Q. Can I entertain a non-Masters question?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Sure.

Q. Can you just recall from your U.S. Amateur experience, because the U.S. Open is coming back to Congressional.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: At Brookline, yeah.

Q. That field was crazy good. Any memories you remember. Just anything you remember and the field especially.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I remember the golf course being pretty difficult. From what I remember, a pretty good field. Isn't that where Fitzy won?

Q. Yes. Bryson was there, and Xander was there.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, great field. That golf course was a lot of fun. I remember it being really hard. Hopefully it feels a bit easier this time around. You never know. I'm looking forward to that week.

Q. You were also coming off a pretty big win that week too?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: What's that?

Q. In 2013, U.S. Amateur, you come out with a big win.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That's right. I forgot about that. Never crossed my mind.

Q. Is there something special when you go back as a pro? I don't know where you'll be ranked then, but right now you're ranked No. 1 in the world.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, going back there as a pro, my coach, I have a lot of good memories with my coach out there. I had a lot of success on 17. I did a really good job. I think I made it to the quarterfinals that year, and I flipped a bunch of matches late. I think I was down late in all three of the matches I won. I was able -- I think I birdied 17 at least a handful of times.

My coach Randy was Justin Leonard's coach at the time he made the putt. Was that '97?

Q. '99.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: So going back with Randy this year, we'll definitely have some good memories this year.

Q. You talked the other day about Tiger being here takes a little bit of the spotlight off. Is that mostly fun. Or are you like, hey, wait a second, I'm No. 1 in the world. Come over here?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No, I definitely don't think I need any more attention than I have at the moment. Having Tiger here with what he does for the game of golf is so special. I'm hoping we're going to see him back here a lot more here in the future.

Q. He put up a red number. What do you make of that?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: They have these leaderboards out here all over the golf course. Since he was a couple groups in front of us, I think we heard the cheer on 6. I guess he made birdie on 6. By the time we got to 6 green, it was kind of like, oh, wow, Tiger's 1-under. That's pretty impressive. It's not easy to go from not playing tournament golf to coming to arguably the biggest tournament that we play. Obviously, he's pretty special at golf.

Q. He's pretty good.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, he's all right (laughter).