THE 150TH OPEN

July 15, 2022

Scottie Scheffler

Mixed Zone

Q. Scottie, a pair of 68s. Do they feel the same?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Not really. I think yesterday I played pretty fantastic to shoot 4-under. It was playing so difficult yesterday in the afternoon. This morning it was tough getting started. But the weather kind of calmed down a little bit once we got through about hole 6, and I played really good after that. Just a few putts that were close to going in that didn't.

Q. You told a story going into the final round of the Masters about your nerves and Meredith cooking breakfast to calm you down. I know you're more comfortable in these situations now, but what sort of breakfast is Meredith preparing this weekend in the UK?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Shoot, I don't know. We'll probably go back downstairs and eat something at the hotel. Fortunately for her, there's not a little kitchen in our hotel room this week (laughter).

Yeah, we'll see how far back I am going into tomorrow. Conditions are getting pretty easy out there. So we'll see what the guys are able to shoot this afternoon.

Q. You don't seem like the kind of guy who would try haggis?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I haven't tried haggis yet. You're correct.

Q. What part of your game are you happiest with through 36 so far?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, overall just staying in position. I think this morning I did a good job of kind of managing my swing. I was not swinging well at all my first six or seven holes, but I stayed out of trouble and made some good pars.

After that, kind of once we made the turn, I made a good swing on 9, and after that I hit most of my shots close to how I wanted to. I'm pretty happy with how I played.

Q. What's the key to adapting to links golf? Do we overblow how much of an adaption you have to make?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's a pretty big change. The stuff we saw yesterday afternoon I hadn't seen before on the course. We're hitting drives 400-something yards. There's bunkers that are 380 yards away and I'm sitting here with a 3-wood going, oh, man, I might be able to get there. It's definitely a lot different.

Q. Would you say one of your strengths is level headedness? I don't know, but it seems like it is. When you bogey the 1st, a lot of people are thinking, geez, that's not great.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, first hole today, I hit two good shots. Just one of those deals where, when you get that rain, so it's raining, it's windy, you don't know how far the ball's going on the first shot. With the burn being short, I actually hit a really good shot and got a bad number.

Green speeds are totally different than they were yesterday. All of a sudden, you're putting downhill, downwind, and they're much slower. Really didn't hit a bad shot. Just ended up making 5. Wasn't too concerned.

Q. Were these the slowest greens you've seen in a major?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, pretty much. They're definitely not the softest, though.

Q. Looks like Tiger is going to miss the cut. It could be his farewell to St Andrews. As a player, are you just in your own bubble, or can you think about the emotional meaning of this for the game?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't know if this will be Tiger's last one here. He may have spoken about it a bit. But he's a pretty resilient guy and he loves to compete.

We'll see what he has in store for us the next few years. Any time you can see that guy out on the golf course, especially The Old Course, it's really special.

For us as players, to have him around is pretty cool. When he got in that car wreck, didn't know if we'd have him back. Just to have him out here playing golf is pretty special for all of us.

Q. Which shot are you most proud of today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I would say probably the two shots I hit into 11, the par-3. I hit a great shot in there to about 15 feet and then rolled in a nice putt.

Q. Back to the question about links golf. Do you feel like, other than the yardages, does your game just travel? Like Watson used to come here and never try to hit low or high, just hit through the wind. Do you play pretty much the same game other than the yardages?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Fairly similar. I always kind of like hitting tons of shots. I think, when the wind is blowing like it is out here, you're kind of forced to. You can't really hit stock shots.

So for me, when the wind gets up, it feels fairly normal even though club selection is different.

Q. Because of where you grew up, to some extent?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I'm used to playing the wind. Like I said, it's different here. It's heavier. The ball actually spins more off the turf. As far as the shot shapes go, I'm still seeing similar shot shapes, but the ball is going a significantly different difference.

Q. How much did you watch when Jordan was trying to win a third major here? Were you caught up in it, being in high school still? Or did you not watch a lot of golf at that age?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No, I was watching golf. I was obviously interested because it was Jordan and he was having such a fantastic year. He's always been a guy that I looked up to. I was coming up in Dallas a few years behind him. When he was having the year he had in '15, it was must-watch TV for all of us. I saw a good amount of it.

Q. Tiger was the last guy to win the Masters and The Open in the same year. Is that something you've thought about?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No, to be honest with you, I'm just here trying to do my best and put myself in position. Thinking about prior wins isn't going to help me play good this week. Just trying to stay in the moment and hit some good shots.

Q. You missed birdie putts towards the end. Any commonalities with those or just missed them?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: They looked like they were going in and they didn't, for the most part. Yeah, I felt like I rolled it fairly well today. A few of those go in versus lipping out, it's a bit of a different day.

Q. How helpful has Teddy been here these first couple days of the tournament thus far?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, Teddy is always really helpful on the course. We talk through all the shots and everything. He's done a really good job there week getting to know the golf course and getting a feel for where to hit it and where not to and making the proper decisions for us.

Q. What would be the right mentality for the final 36, do you think? The right mindset for you?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: For me, just coming in like I usually do and try to do my best, not overthink things and focus on the task at hand.

Q. 16, 17 took on some pretty big bunkers. Is that a wedge shot or not really a concern?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: They're definitely a concern. The shot I hit into 16, it was nearly perfect. Just got a terrible bounce. I don't know if you saw that, but yeah.

It's just one of those things, you get good ones and bad ones. That was actually the second wedge I hit today where I was actually wish it would move a little bit. I hit one on 10 that was the same thing and barely missed the pin. I was able to make birdie.

There I was fortunate to be in the fairway and just tried to get a look. Then on 17 the wind actually came a bit more off the right than we felt in the fairway. That's why the ball was going towards the pin.

Other than that, just most of the time playing conservative golf.