MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 11, 2024

Scottie Scheffler

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to have Scottie Scheffler back in the interview room today. Scottie, thank you for your time.

Your 6-under 66 today so far is the only completed round bogey-free today. Would you please describe your level of confidence at Augusta National?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, it's always nice getting around here bogey-free. I did a good job of staying patient today. We kept the golf course in front of us. And, I mean, I executed some really nice up-and-downs to keep the round going.

And, yeah, I enjoy coming here and competing in this golf tournament. You know, the first day is over and I'm off to a good start. And, you know, going into tonight I'll just focus on going home, getting some rest. May go hit a few balls, but outside of that I'm going to go get some recovery in and some dinner and try to get some sleep.

Q. With not as much rain as expected, and the amount of wind you had today, were you at all surprised to see Bryson start out with a 7 and you come through with a 6-under?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah.

Q. Did you see that kind of score out there?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: When I was walking up to the first tee, I was fairly surprised with how many people were under par already. Going into today with the forecast the way it was supposed to be, and I've played this tournament once before in some pretty high winds, and it's an extremely challenging golf course.

And, yeah, I felt like today I just did a really good job of -- Teddy, I would say, did a really good job of kind of guessing the wind correctly, if that makes sense. You know, we stole a few shots on the par 3s, I felt like, and then I played the par 5s well.

Q. Rory was just praising your efficiency on the golf course, and he said that the secret to winning major championships is limiting the mistakes more than making a ton of birdies. Would you agree with that?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah. I mean, I think in terms of these tournaments, yeah, I think limiting your mistakes, obviously a lot easier said than done. But, yeah, limiting your mistakes is important. It's important to kind of keep that momentum of the round going. And I felt like today, when I was in some challenging spots on some tough holes, did a good job of pitching it up there nice and close.

Yeah, overall it was a pretty solid day.

Q. Bryson posted his number two hours before you finished. What was it like trying to chase down a score like that when conditions were, if anything, getting worse?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I wasn't really thinking too much about my score out there. I mean, it's the first day of the tournament. Like I said, I was just trying to hit good shots and stay patient out there. You cannot force yourself into making birdies around this golf course. It just doesn't really lend itself to that, especially with the high winds.

And so, I mean, I saw that he shot 7-under, and I thought to myself, wow, that's a really good round of golf, and I kind of put my head down and focused on what I was doing.

Q. You seem like you are very patient and disciplined in weeks like this. Is that something that has always been true of you, or have you gotten better at that over time? You mentioned when you were 15, your coach said, "I want you to be the best in the world when you're 25. I don't care if you're the best in the world when you're 15." Were you patient and disciplined then, or is it something that's gotten better?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think it's definitely gotten better over time. Certainly as I've matured as a person, as well.

Like I said on Tuesday this week, I typically expect a lot out of myself. And so when things aren't going the way that they are supposed to be, especially when I was younger, I would get pretty frustrated. And I try to manage myself a lot better than I did back then, and, you know, I'm seeing some good results of that.

But days like today, I mean, it's very easy to say, hey, stay patient, don't make too many mistakes out there, all that stuff, yada yada yada. But all it comes down is hitting good shots and manage your way around the golf course, and I think it's a lot easier said than done for sure.

Q. We always say that there's certain players raise their game a notch or two when it comes to the majors, but you've been consistent, it's just everywhere, every tournament, close, two PLAYERS and a whole bunch of top 20s, 25s in the majors. Do you still feel that in terms of winning majors, you haven't had as many majors in the last three years as you could or you should with so many good results?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: So is the question should I have more majors.

Q. Yeah, you came pretty close.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Okay. Yeah, I've been asked a question like that before. In my head, yeah, should I have won way more golf tournaments. Anytime I show up to a golf tournament, I'm hoping to win that golf tournament. If you ask Tiger Woods the same thing, he would say he hasn't won nearly as many golf tournaments as he should.

I think that's part of what drives us as players, is we want to compete and we want to win out here. That's just part of it. Golf is not a very satisfying game, I would say. You win one week and then you show up the next week and you don't win. It's like, well, that's it. The win is over. Now I finished second. That's too bad.

So it's just one of those sports where you're never really satisfied with the result.

Q. Looking at the stats and the way you've done in the majors over the last --

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Say that again.

Q. Your figures, you've never finished out of Top 25 in 13 of the 14 majors that you've played.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I've always liked playing challenging golf courses, and the majors, I think, are the most difficult golf courses that we play, outside of maybe a couple TOUR events. But the majors are always very difficult challenges. It excites me. I like playing against the best players. And these tournaments I think excite me a little bit, and I try to use that energy for some enhanced focus. And, yeah, I think those are fun weeks to be out here playing.

Q. Just wondering, what's the update with your wife, and are you at all concerned that there's a scenario in which you have to leave this tournament?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Maybe I should be more concerned. I don't really know (laughter).

People have asked us how our preparation is going for the baby. I feel like, well, we are a little underprepared. The nursery is not quite ready and we've had some issues at our house the last few weeks. I think that's the exciting part. I think we are definitely underprepared to be parents.

As far as her going into labor, I wouldn't say I'm very concerned. We haven't seen any of the early signs. But pregnancy is weird. It can happen at any time. Yeah, open lines of communication and she can get ahold of me if she needs to.

Yeah, I'm ready to go at a moment's notice.

Q. You've come into this tournament on a red hot streak. I wonder how much confidence that gives you and how that confidence manifests itself when you're out on the course in the first round and the conditions are difficult?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I try to use it as good momentum. I've had some good results in the last month or so. And, you know, I'm trying to use that in a positive way. But it really -- when you step up there on the first tee, I'm not thinking about last week and I'm not thinking about the week before that. I'm thinking about the shot I'm trying to hit, and that's pretty much it.

It's definitely nice in the preparation knowing that my game is in a good spot. And, yeah, I was just kind of excited to get the week started, and so far I'm off to a good start.

Q. Can you describe what went wrong on the second shot at 13, and how fortunate did you feel that the ball stayed dry?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I felt extremely fortunate that the ball stayed dry. Right at the top of my swing I heard somebody else make contact with the ball, and kind of tricked me a little bit, and I lost out to the right. That stuff happens in the game of golf. Things happen. You've got to be more focused than that.

When I hear something like that, it's not -- that's not very typical of me. Usually I can kind of -- I don't hear a lot of the other stuff that goes on. I'm usually very focused on what I'm doing. So sometimes when you hear that your brain reacts to it. That's what happened there.

Yeah, I was extremely fortunate the ball stayed up. I was trying to figure out where the ball crossed to figure out where I was going to drop. I was very grateful that I did and was able to take advantage of it with a birdie.

Q. Was it beyond the creek or short of it?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It was on the other side of the creek. So on the pin side of the creek.

Q. You talk about guessing the winds. Can you give us an example of one of the shots or some of the shots you had to deal with and how it maybe changed or affected the shot in order to control it with these winds?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: You want me to go through all the shots or (laughs)...

No, I think when you kind of make the turn, like you get down there on No. 10, and No. 10 is a hole, with the way the wind direction is today, it can be very challenging, when you have all those trees blocking you. Hit a nice shot up there.

We get up to No. 11, and it was gusting all day today, and No. 11 is a 520-yard par 4, and it starts blowing like 35 miles an hour directly in our face. Just these big gusts. You could see the trees were blowing like crazy.

I tried to wait until it stopped, and it just never stopped. Then I hit it, and you're standing there over an approach shot, I don't even remember what I had in, but I had a 4-iron in my hand, and I hit an incredibly good golf shot that was still short of the green.

You get to No. 12, and that was another example of a shot that I hit exactly how I wanted to, you know, we were trying to hit a 60-shot, and it was about 150 pin, and, you know, on No. 11 I probably got 35 yards of hurt on my 4-iron, and so playing for 10 on the next 8-iron is, you know, not a crazy amount of wind to be playing for.

It's just kind of one those deals where you really are guessing sometimes. And I hit the shot exactly how I wanted to. The wind stopped, and it airmailed the green, but I can kind of hand my club to Teddy and just be like, Well, we did what we tried to do.

You can't get every wind right. It's not possible. Did a good job of staying in the moment there, and then hit a great bunker shot after that.

Q. Everyone says the key to doing well at Augusta National is to play the par 5s well. You did that. But you also played the par 3s really well today. I think you have three birdies in the four par 3s. Can you just tell me about that, what was your mentality going into the par 3s, and how you tackled the winds over there?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I felt like I definitely stole some shots there on the par 3s today. Like you said, you do have to take advantage of the par 5s out here. Most of them are reachable. So you definitely have to do your best to take advantage of those.

Today, yeah, definitely stole a couple shots there. All that's going through my head is just trying to execute, and like it all really depends on the pin location and setup. Like No. 4 is a good example. The tee box was up today, and it's a challenging pin, but I put myself in a good spot there under the hole.

Then No. 6, we got the wind right, and our goal was just challenging the top of the slope. And that's exactly what we did, and it stayed up there on top and made a nice putt.

No. 12, hit a good shot, and doesn't hit the green. That happens out here.

16, we had a good wind direction and the pin was, you know, down low, which made that hole significantly easier, and was just able to hit a nice shot in there.

Q. Through this long stretch of golf, one thing that sort of jumps out to me is the distance control over your irons seems really impressive compared to a lot of players. Can you talk about, from a practice routine, what do you do within that environment to really -- is that a big part of your routine?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It is a big part of my routine. I usually will get my fundamentals out of the way at the beginning of the practice session. And then as the session continues, it all goes into hitting shots and controlling distances.

When I'm hitting the ball well, that's typically exactly how we practice: Check the fundamentals and then get into hitting shots and kind of having fun with the practice and hitting different distances with different clubs and stuff like that.

Q. What were the clubs on the three par 3s you birdied?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I hit an 8-iron on every par 3 today I think.

Q. That's easy.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I hit an 8-iron on 4, 6, 12 and 16.

Q. When you were in Butler Cabin getting ready to do your interview, you said you were checking scores. Why?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I was bored. I was waiting (laughter).

So I had my phone there, and I was like, oh. I didn't really have any text messages. I think I had one from Meredith and I figured I would just call her when I leave instead. So checked scores. Checked how Sam was playing. Then, yeah, that was it. I was just buying some time. Just sitting there, instead of listening to Scott and Curtis, I just checked some scores.

Q. I don't blame you.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: (Laughs.)

Q. I wanted to get your thoughts on being at the Champions Dinner when you weren't the host, and what was the best story you heard that night?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: There were some really good stories told. I love Jackie Burke stories. We lost Jackie in the last year, and so Ben said some nice things about Jackie and told a couple stories.

We always got the chance to go visit with Jackie when I was in college, and he was a treat to listen to. He was just a stubborn, tough, tough, tough person. You could tell why he was such a good golfer because he was so to the point. Didn't mess around. And he was just -- I think that's what I really admired about him, and you could still see it.

When we were going to visit him, he was probably, you know, 95 years old almost, and he's still going to the golf course every day. He still cares about his game. He still cares about our games and he gave us great advice. It was really cool getting to hear some stories.

Yeah, it was different. I had to find my seat. That's always interesting, finding your seat there.

Q. Who did you sit next to?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, I asked Zach if I could sit by him, because him and Jordan usually sit together, and I figure if I asked Jordan to sit by him he would mess with me somehow. But Zach I felt I could rely on a bit more.

So when were walking in, I was like, "Hey, Zach, could I sit next to you?" Felt like I was in middle school or something like that. Made me sweat a little bit.

Q. Was there a piece of advice from Jackie that stuck with you?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: The things that struck me the most about Jackie was just how to the point he was, and he didn't mess around. So when he told you something, he really, really meant it. And one of the things that stuck out to me, which kind of holds true, is he taught us how to club into greens.

He said, "Whatever you would bet, all the money in your wallet, that club that you for sure are going to carry the green with, whatever you know, no matter what happens, no matter the wind gust, whatever it is, you're going to airmail that green, you take two off that, and that's what you should hit."

And it was that simple to him. We just sat there, and I was like -- we went out to the golf course the next day, and I was looking at it, and I'm like, Oh, that actually makes sense.

Yeah, that one always stuck with me because I thought it was so funny. When he grew up when he was playing, they didn't have yardage books. They didn't have Range Finders and stuff like that. So he had to learn how to do it with his eyes, and that was the best way for him to judge it.

Q. It seemed on 15 green right before Rory was about to address, I think it was his par putt, you guys had a bit of a conversation. Did his ball move there?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, just barely. It was pretty obvious he didn't cause it to move and he had not marked the ball yet. Just tapped it in.

Q. Unrelated follow-up.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Sorry.

Q. That's fine. I was just curious. In optimal scoring -- I know today was tough. Optimal scoring conditions, what is the low number that you or a player of your caliber could post out here?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: You're saying, what is the lowest? I mean, I'm not really sure. I mean, around this place, it really depends on how they set the course up. It really depends on the pin locations. You look at a hole like 16, where the pin was today, I wouldn't say it's an overly challenging hole. But if they put the pin in the front right, it's an extremely challenging hole. And that's just based purely on pin position.

And so really it's up to them and how they want to set up the golf course. And, you know, there's a lot of low spots on the green, and there's a lot of high spots as well. So if they want to put them in all the high spots that day, it's going to be pretty dang challenging. But if they decide to put them in the low spots and there's not too much wind, you're going to see some fairly low scores.

Q. How low?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't like to try to limit ourselves out here, you know. Swing for the fences. We'll see.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Scottie, and best of luck the rest of the tournament.