MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 14, 2024

Scottie Scheffler

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It's a privilege to welcome our 2024 Masters Champion, Scottie Scheffler.

Scottie, congratulations on your great victory. Two years after your breakthrough here at Augusta National, here you are again in a green jacket as a two-time Masters Champion.

Can you describe your emotions as you hit your final putt today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I'm glad I brought my stroke average, my putting average down on 18. That was nice. Down to, you know, five strokes, 2 1/2 is my average, so that's not bad.

No, it's hard to put into words how special this is. It's been a long week, a grind of a week. The golf course was so challenging, and to be sitting here wearing this jacket again and getting to take it home is extremely special.

Q. Two-part question. One, I see you've got some kinesiology tape on. I assume that's from your neck. And two, how was this Sunday morning different than the Sunday morning two years ago?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, the Sunday morning was definitely different. Yeah, instead of just me and Mer at the house, I just had a couple of my buddies with me, and we sat and relaxed. Tried not to think about golf, but it was increasingly difficult. But, you know, they were a great support for me this morning. And, yeah, it was a long morning, but it was well worth it. I'm glad to be sitting here now.

Q. Your rivals will be hoping that at some point you're going to take your eye off the ball. By the time of the next major in a month's time, you'll have a baby in your arms. What are the chances that you will take your eye off the ball?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, I'm definitely not going to intentionally take my eye off the ball. I will go home, soak in this victory tonight. Will definitely enjoy the birth of my first child. But with that being said, I still love competing. My priorities will change here very soon. My son or daughter will now be the main priority, along with my wife, so golf will now be probably fourth in line.

But I still love competing. I don't plan on taking my eye off the ball anytime soon, that's for sure.

Q. What do you consider the most important shot you hit today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: The most important shot? I would say the best momentum turner that I had today was the birdie putt on 8. I hit two really good shots in there long of the green. I had an extremely difficult pitch that I hit up there about 10, 12 feet from the cup. It was a challenging read because it turned early and it was really straight at the end. So it was a putt that you had to really start on line and hope it held its line. I poured that one in.

Then kind of gave me some good momentum, and I used that to birdie 9 and 10 and keep pushing because I knew there was birdies out there on back nine. I had a lot of really talented players trying to chase me down, and I knew pars weren't going to get it done.

Q. Can you explain the difference of how it feels emotionally between 4-putting of the last green and 1-putting?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: 1-putting is significantly easier. Yeah, I tried not to let my emotions get the best of me this time. I kept my head down. I don't think I even took my hat off and waved to the crowd walking up 18. I did my best to stay in the moment, and I wanted to finish off the tournament in the right way. And I got to soak it in there after 1-putting instead of 4-putting, which was a little bit better.

Q. Collin was talking about how much farther you were than him on a couple of holes and how much of an advantage that is. Do you see it as a massive mental advantage when you are 50, a hundred yards ahead of Collin?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't know if I was that far ahead. Collin maybe exaggerated a little bit. I drove the ball really well this week. I was hitting it hard. Today was a day where I was able to swing freely.

And around this place, I mean, distance is very important around this golf course. The fairways are fairly wide, and when the greens are this firm, you have to have short clubs going into these greens, especially with the little areas there are to where they put the pins.

And so I would say I was swinging a bit harder this week than I would in a normal PGA TOUR event just because there's a bit more room off the tee. At a regular TOUR stop or U.S. Open or something like that, my tee height may be a little bit lower and I might be hitting more different types of shots, but a lot of the drives I hit this week I was just teeing it high and hitting it hard. That's pretty much it.

Q. I know you said you kept your head down all day, basically, but at any point did you allow yourself to enjoy the lead you had?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Enjoy the lead? No. I think, just like any human would, your mind starts to wander a little bit out there on the golf course. I mean, we're out there for four or five hours at a time. You got to let your mind wander. I tried to soak in stuff around me today. I looked up at the trees at times. I looked up at the fans occasionally to try to soak in some of their energy.

But did not ever let myself get attached to the lead. I just tried to keep pushing. I mean, I think if I would have played a little bit defensively it would have been a significantly different finish. I went for the green in two on 13, was able to make birdie. I attacked the pin on 14 and was able to make birdie. Went for it again on 15 and made a nice par, and I hit a really good shot on 16 to make birdie.

If I was just trying to make pars the whole back nine, I would have been standing on 18 having to make par and hoping Ludvig would only make a par.

Around this golf course you have to stay aggressive. You have to hit the right shots. There's no way around it out here. You can't play too defensive, and you can't play too aggressive. You just have to hit the right shots. And fortunately today I was able to do that.

Q. You say constantly the identity is not in your golf scores. What is it about winning and competing that you find satisfying?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: You know, that's a really good question. I was sitting around with my buddies this morning, I was a bit overwhelmed, I told them, I wish I didn't want to win as badly as did I or as badly as I do. I think it would make the mornings easier.

But I love winning. I hate losing. I really do. And when you're here in the biggest moments, when I'm sitting there with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly. And my buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the cross. And that's a pretty special feeling to know that I'm secure for forever and it doesn't matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever.

Q. I'm wondering, what did you learn about leading at this golf course from your previous Masters win to this one?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think it's a difficult golf course to close out a win on. Like I said, you can't play overly defensive. Like 12 is a good example of a hole where if you play overly defensive, like where the pin is today, you're trying to hit right over that bunker, right in the middle of the green. And if you pull it, for a righty, it goes further.

You could you see Max Homa in the group in front of us maybe pulled his a touch, and it flies into the bushes long. I've hit it in the bushes long there multiple times. You can't just sit up there and play overly defensive. You have to play to the correct spot and hit really good golf shots.

I did that to the best of my abilities today and was fortunately able to hit some really key shots and make some nice birdies there on the back nine. Really, from hole 8 on, I played really, really nice golf.

Q. Speaking about your faith there, could you just tell us a bit about how much it features in your head when you're actually out there on the course? Does it help you cope with the sort of vicissitudes of the wind and things like that, bad breaks?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, I believe that today's plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans. I have been given a gift of this talent, and I use it for God's glory. That's pretty much it.

So when I'm out there, I try to compete to the best of my abilities. Like I said, I really want to win. I feel like that's how I was designed. I've been that way since I was a young kid. That's always been a part of me, and I don't think that should be going away anytime soon. I don't think there's anything wrong with that either.

At the end of the day, like I said, my identity is secure already, and I get to come out here and compete, have fun, enjoy it; and then at the end of the day, win or lose, my identity is secure.

Q. How much do you struggle with the idea of discontentment, of needing -- whether it's more wins, more money, more fame to be satisfied, and when do you find yourself most content?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Gosh, that's a good question. I feel like playing professional golf is an endlessly not satisfying career. For instance, in my head, all I can think about right now is getting home. I'm not thinking about the tournament. I'm not thinking about the green jacket. I'm trying to answer your questions and I'm trying to get home.

I wish -- I wish I could soak this in a little bit more. Maybe I will tonight when I get home. But at the end of the day, I think that's what the human heart does. You always want more, and I think you have to fight those things and focus on what's good.

Because, like I said, winning this golf tournament does not change my identity. My identity is secure, and I cannot -- cannot emphasize that enough.

Q. You mentioned you know your life is going to change coming up. What are you looking forward most to about being a dad?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, looking forward to the next couple weeks. Hopefully getting a bit of sleep and a couple months of probably not getting any sleep.

No, but I mean, I'm excited. I think -- it's funny. When you get married, a lot of people tend to make jokes about like, oh, your life is over, yada, yada, yada. My friends were always very excited for me to get married, but you get some people offhand just making jokes and stuff like that.

When it comes to having a kid, every single person says that it changes your life and it's the most special thing in the world, so I cannot -- marriage has been such a tremendous aspect of my life, I cannot even imagine what being a parent is going to be like.

Q. You seem like you're in total control right now of your game, in the zone, whatever it might be. How do you feel out there, and do you feel like you're playing your best golf right now?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I feel like I'm playing really good golf right now. I feel like I'm in control of my emotions as I've ever been, which is a good place to be. I feel like I'm maturing as a person on the golf course, which is a good place to be.

I think it's hard to argue with the results of the last few weeks. I've been playing some nice golf. But I really try to not focus too much on the past. I'm going to go home this week and reflect on this week and soak it in as best I can. Like I said, it's not -- it's not a very satisfying sport because I'm supposed to tee it up again on Thursday.

Back to the grind pretty quick.

Q. Was there anything Meredith said to you this morning that helped you on your way to victory today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: She just asked me if she could pray for me. And I actually wasn't able to talk to her very long this morning which was unusual. She sent a lot of prayers. My neck was bugging me a little bit. Just prayed for some healing and prayed for a lot of peace out there. I had a good conversation with my buddies this morning about the victory and that victory already being secure.

So, yeah, it was -- it was a longer morning, again, than anticipated this year, but I would say it wasn't as long as it was a couple years ago, but still a long morning.

Q. Is that the only time your neck bothered you this week, this morning?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think when you get stressed out, your body just reacts to it, whether or not it's a stomachache or your body starts aching. I think my body was just reacting to the stress. And, yeah, that's pretty much it.

Q. Can you take us back to the decision that you and Randy made to hire Phil Kenyon and what that meant to you at the time and what it means now?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: After East Lake last year, ride home on the plane, sitting there talking to Blake, and we kind of look at each other, and I think we both were thinking the same thing. And we both looked at each other, and I was like, "You know, I want to see a putting coach."

Blake goes, "I think that's a good idea. Let's talk to Randy."

I had watched Phil before and watched him coach players. When you're out here as long as I've been, I just see stuff, and I loved the way Phil coached his players. You look at a guy like Fitzy who lines up his putts and uses a putter that has a lot of swing to it, and you look at a guy like Keegan Bradley, doesn't use a line on the ball, uses a big giant putter cross-handed, and he putts good.

As I watched Phil, I could tell that he was open-minded, and that's the type of people I like to work with. And we kind of hit the ground running in the fall. I can't speak highly enough of the decision that Randy also made to be open-minded, not take an ego to it, sit there, watch us work, watch Phil do his thing.

Phil is also a guy that doesn't have a big ego. He just wants what's best for his players. I'm really, really fortunate to have those two guys as part of my team.

I can't -- it's hard to -- it's hard to describe what it's like, having somebody -- Randy had taught me for almost 20 years every single aspect of the game. And so for me to have to bring in somebody else could have been a shot to his ego and he may not have wanted me to do it. But Randy sat there and he said, "You know what, I think it's the right time."

We called Phil, and about a week later he came in, had a visit. We worked for a couple days, and, yeah, now we're here.

Q. I just wondered, when you talk about your own parents and your upbringing if there was one thing from that that you will definitely use when you become a father? And also how long you think you're going to leave it until you put a plastic club in the baby's hand?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I guess starting with my upbringing, you know, my parents always wanted what's best for me. I swear my dad, I think, would lay in front of traffic if it means that I wouldn't get a scratch on my arm. He would -- would he die for any of his kids. I mean, both my parents would. They are such special people.

First and foremost, I think how much love they had for us growing up. I mean, that's what I'm looking forward to most, I think, about being a parent is being able to love, love my child like my parents loved me.

How long will it take me to put a plastic club in my kid's hands? You know, it's funny. I watch my nephew a lot. My older sister had her first child, and he turns two in June. Some people want to be like their parents and some people don't want to be like their parents, and Hayes is a kid that wants to be just like his dad, and his dad loves grass, and I got a video from my sister the other day of Hayes following his dad around in the backyard. His dad was mowing the lawn, and Hayes was following him with his plastic lawn mower. And Andrew loves to play golf; Hayes loves to play golf.

What's my kid going to like? Who the heck knows. Who knows what they will pick up on. But whatever it is, you know, I'm just -- I just want to be there to support him. Doesn't matter what they are doing.

Q. When you look across your game and the week as a whole, what do you think you did best?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I would say the two aspects of my game that were probably the best were short game and driving. I think probably short game being the most. I mean, just looking at a day like today, first two holes, or first three holes, really, for that matter, first hole, Teddy and I got the wind completely wrong. I hit a good shot, and we missed our target by like 25 yards.

And that's the kind of stuff that happens around here. But I was -- hit a nice chip up there to about four or five feet, knocked it in.

No. 2, we get the wind wrong again. Didn't hit a great shot, but I didn't hit that bad of a shot. It should have still been on the green, and instead I airmail and now I'm in a really tough spot and hit another really good pitch to about four or five feet.

On No. 3, hit a good drive, ends up there in the bunker, and it's not an easy bunker shot. You're going up the slow direction, but the bunker is extremely deep. And hit a great bunker shot there to about three feet, knocked that one in.

I think probably the short game was most important.

Q. You were doing some remarkable things right now. I know it's a humbling game, but you haven't had one round over par the entire year, you win your second major here. Can you talk about what's allowing you to play so well? You talk to the other golfers, they say you're here and the rest of them start there. Do you sense that you're doing something different and something special right now?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I try not to think about the past or the future too much. I love trying to live in the present. I've had a really good start to the year, and I hope that I can continue on this path that I'm on.

I'm going to continue to put in the work that's got me here. I mean, yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm going to continue to put in the work, keep my head down. I like, when I step up on the tee at a tournament, being able to tell myself that I did everything I could to play well and the rest isn't up to me.

So when I step up on the tee next week, I'm going to be thinking about the preparation, what it took to get there, and then I'm going to go out and just try and play as freely as possible.

Q. Were any of these things impressive to you, the no round over par this year?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No rounds over par is great. I hate shooting over par. I can't tell you how much I hate shooting over par. It's nice to not experience that yet this year.

Q. Have you talked to Meredith yet, and what was her setup for watching today?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I did FaceTime her. Although it was very brief. She was at her aunt's house. They just built a new house in Dallas where she actually stayed most of this weekend, and so they had a nice little group there watching. I saw maybe seven or eight people in the background.

But honestly my head has been spinning since I got off the tee. I can't even really tell you who was in the film or in the video other than Meredith.

Q. When you take a look back at your win here in 2022 and your win here today, what stands out most to you between getting your first green jacket and your second, other than just adding a green jacket to the collection?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think, when I look at the tournament from two years ago, I built myself a lead on Friday afternoon and was able to -- cruise isn't really the right word for how it went over the weekend, but I was able to play with the lead and play comfortably, whereas this week I felt like I was battling the whole week.

Go out there on Thursday, and it was so windy, and was able to shoot a great score. And then the next two days were really just a fight. I mean, I was fighting this golf course the last couple days.

I think it was Friday afternoon we went out, I can't even describe to you how difficult the conditions were. I mean, I hit driver, 3-iron -- so 15 was into the wind on Thursday, and I hit driver, 3-iron on the green. 15 was into the wind again today, and I hit driver, 4-iron onto the green, and I took some off the 4-iron. On Friday afternoon I hit driver, 3-iron, and I had 70 yards left to the pin. It was insane how windy it was.

And it was just a battle. It was a long week. I had to battle some ups and downs. And, you know, I'm very fortunate to be sitting here with you, but, yeah, it was a different type of week.

Q. When you got on the back nine, was there any point you decided no matter what, I'm not leaving? Even if you got a call?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I was like, What are you talking about? (Laughter) Of course I'm not leaving.

No, no, you know, I guess that's a testament to what good -- how good of a head space I was in. I wasn't thinking about it that much. I was doing my best to stay in the moment, stay calm, execute shots.

I was very focused out there today. I felt like I did a really good job. Teddy did a great job of making sure that we kept the golf course in front of us. I didn't get off to the best start, but I had some key up-and-downs, and Teddy once again did a great job of keeping me in it.

Yeah, we had a great week.

THE MODERATOR: Well, Scottie, before we go, can you take us through which clubs you used when you made your birdies and bogeys today so we have that for the historical record?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Okay. Birdies and bogeys. So No. 3, I used a driver and a lob-wedge and a putter. No, I -- and then I bogeyed on 4. I hit a 3-iron over the green.

Parred 5.

Parred 6.

7 was unusual because I hit driver, 4-iron, lob-wedge and missed the putt for par.

No. 8 was driver, 3-iron, lob-wedge.

No. 9 was driver, lob-wedge.

10 was driving, pitching wedge.

11 was a bogey. That was driver, 7-iron, lob-wedge.

13 was driver, 4-iron.

14 was 3-wood, wedge.

16 was an 8-iron.

And then -- yeah, the rest pars.

THE MODERATOR: Well, Scottie, thank you, and congratulations on your incredible second Masters.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Thanks, y'all, appreciate it. See y'all.