TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 26, 2022

Xander Schauffele

East Lake Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Can you describe the second shot on 18?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it was a little right of where I wanted, but it had the distance and the shape. I hit it really well, so I wasn't very worried about it.

Yeah, just trying to make sure to cover that corner and I hit it solid so I knew it was going to cover. For it to go to five, six feet was definitely a bonus.

Q. Club?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It was a 4-iron.

Q. Does it feel like a lot has changed in the last 40 minutes of this tournament for you?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Not really. Same old. It's only day two, so playing golf.

Q. Are you more comfortable here than you are in your own living room? I know you've been asked a thousand times why this place, you do so well.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Well, it fits my eye, the greens being really pure. Just kind of have to do everything pretty well, which sort of feeds into how I play. At times it's okay to be defensive.

With ball in hand the first two days it allowed us to be more aggressive if you were in the fairway. That was kind of the mission teeing off on every hole.

Q. Can you ride that kind of experience into the weekend?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it's just kind of same old thing. It was nice to pick up some shots late here, but it's just a positioning battle going into Sunday.

Q. When you say "nothing has changed," isn't it better to go into the weekend two shots behind instead of six?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It would be better to be two shots ahead. But yeah, it's just kind of head down. There's a lot of golf to be played on this property.

I got off to kind of a bad start and saw a bunch of 62s and 63s on the board, so I just tucked my head and got to work.

Q. When you say nothing has changed, you're talking about blinders on and wait until 72 is over?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah. Yeah, there's a lot at stake here, and staying present is going to be the hardest thing. When I say, yeah, keep my blinders on, that's what I mean.

Q. You're happy with your finish?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah.

Q. Is there any other course that you have this sort of sustained success on?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, probably my home course back home. Whether it's in San Diego or in Vegas, courses I feel very comfortable on -- to be fair, a course that I haven't played a ton in my career, I have played very well on. I'll just take that going into the weekend.

Q. What does winning this tournament mean to a professional golfer in the year 2022?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, you're way ahead of me. I'm kind of worried about tomorrow. I'm honestly kind of worried about just cooling down right now.

But yeah, part of my goal is to not let my mind wander too far, and that means I'm not going to answer your question.

Q. I saw you on the third hole today and I see the way you finish. Talk about the intervening passage of time, what's going through your mindset, what's it like playing as well as Scottie Scheffler?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, he's doing all the right things. He's playing very solid, not making any mistakes, when he is out of position, putting it in a good spot for his short game, making good putts. He's going to be a tough guy to beat.

Q. Where were you at mentally when you were as far as eight back?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I didn't even know I was eight back. I just figured I was 1-over and he was 2-under, so I need to get on my horse here or it's going to be a long weekend.

Q. Your bogey on 3, was the ball sitting down or just a bad shot?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Normally the bunker is okay. Just with a lot of rain and them sort of churning them up the bunkers have been a little bit more sketchier normal.

Yeah, the lie was kind of clumpy. It was just a tough spot.

Q. When did you see the leaderboard with the 62s and 63s on it?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Just throughout the day. I saw he was quite a far pace ahead, but I just kind of peeked at the board and saw a bunch of guys shot some good scores.

So I just knew if I could kind of hang tight, control my golf ball a little better, we're going to have plenty of looks coming in.

Q. This is better than your living room; what's your living room like?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's dark, it's cold, big couch.

Q. No phone?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, usually the phone is further away from me.

Q. Do you keep your horse at Delmar?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: My horse?

Q. You kept saying get on your horse.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Oh, Scottie is telling me to hurry up here, so here I go. Thanks.