THE AMERICAN EXPRESS

January 18, 2024

Scottie Scheffler

PGA WEST Pete Dye Stadium Course

Quick Quotes

Q. 5-under 67 to start the California swing. Thoughts on your round today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It was a weird day. I had numerous bad breaks to start my round. It was very frustrating. No. 2, I hit a good drive that would have been left center of the fairway, it hits a tree and goes out of bounds, it was an over hanging tree there, and it's, like, what are the odds it's going to hit it and go out of bounds. That cost me two shots.

I had a lot of putts early in the round that kept hitting lips.

Then, par-5, I was green side, hit a bunker shot that was really good, rock in the way. Little stuff like that that was pretty frustrating to start my day. But I kept fighting and ended up with a nice score, 5-under. Not what I was hoping for today, but still just to kind fight through what was going on and post a number was good.

Q. You made a birdie on the that kind of kicked your round into gear. Did anything click at that moment that maybe just hadn't been clicking for you earlier in the day?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, no. Like I said, I mean, I swung it pretty good to start the day, and I just couldn't get anything to go my way, really. It was like, I felt like -- I looked at Teddy after No. 6, and I said, Am I being punked right now? Like, what's going on. That's part of the game and, fortunately, I was able to kick start things down No. 9 and finish with a fairly decent round, around this place.

Q. You've been on TOUR five years and this is your fifth start here at the AmEx. What have those previous instances here taught you about just -- how has that informed your strategy around this golf course and around a three-course layout for this tournament?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's nice having the experience on the courses. Whereas, first year I came here, I was really having to do a lot of work around each golf course to prepare. This year, since I have the knowledge going in, I don't have to do as much to prepare, so I'm much more rested and ready to play going into the week, versus having to try and figure out three golf courses on the fly.

Q. Five for five in starts on your PGA career here. What about this place makes it a perennial start for you?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I just love the event. It's a great crowd. Weather's always wonderful. Pro-am aspect is fun and it's just an event that I enjoy to play.