U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

June 16, 2023

Xander Schauffele

The Los Angeles Country Club

Flash Interview

Q. Even par-70. How big was that finish for you?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it was big, just to keep myself in touch. Four back wouldn't have been out of this world, but I was just playing too good a golf in my head to sort of let that myself or that round get away from me.

It got away from me there in the middle, or the latter I should say with -- nuked a wedge on 14 and the green being really firm on 15 it made that really hard, actually.

Yeah, birdieing 17 and 18 is not something you have to do, I guess, but I'm glad I did it.

Q. What's the self-talk like walking off 15 heading to 16?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I mean, just within a few steps, just get over it. You can count how many steps you want to take, but don't count too long. I like to keep it pretty quick and brief.

Everyone has their way of dealing with their issues, and I just told myself that I'm playing too good a golf, so I got over stuff pretty quickly today.

I was upset, but I knew I'm swinging it too good to let the round get away from me, like I said, so it was nice to finish well.

Q. How different did the course feel for you day by day?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, different. Just firm. The sun came out. This is what everyone wanted. The sun came out and it kind of got weird, kind of cool and dewy, so the greens were really firm and slow at the end -- slow relative to what they normally are, I guess, at 1:00 p.m.

But it was a lot -- you had to be a lot cleaner how you were attacking pins and how you were approaching the golf course.

Q. Where do you think the course is trending over the next two days?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Well, with a pair 62s, a 63, a 64, 65s on Thursday, I'd be surprised if they're syringing the greens right now. So with a late tee time tomorrow, it gives me sleep, but at the same time, it's going to be really firm, so it should be a fun weekend.

Q. So you prefer it hard?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah.

Q. Why?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: You just have to hit your spots. You can't -- I got sloppy in certain spots and missed my number and I made bogeys pretty quickly. If you want to avoid doing that, you just have to be better, and that's what the course is going to ask of you on the weekend.

Q. These West Coast majors, what do you do now for the next 20 hours until you play golf again?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Hang out. My wife and dogs are here. My family is here. It's not my first time being kind of in a later group.

The British is always famous for teeing off at 5:00 p.m. is what it feels like. You just watch some golf, have some breakfast, do a workout, see a physio. We're good at stalling. Us golfers always seem to be late no matter what our tee time is.