THE 152ND OPEN

July 18, 2024

Scottie Scheffler

Mixed Zone

Q. You had three weeks off. Was any aspect kind of tricky to get back into things today? Or business as usual?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Not really. I had plenty of time to prepare. I would have thought maybe there was a little bit, but not really today. I felt like I got settled in pretty quick.

Q. Is three weeks like a break in your mind? Does it constitute a break?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think so. I think this time it was, especially coming home after Travelers and we went on vacation. Definitely a bit more of a break than a typical three weeks off.

I'm trying to think if I did it throughout the year other times, but I can't really remember.

Q. Do you fully unplug during those?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I try to. Like I said, after Travelers it was obviously a nice win, so it was nice to go home and relax and celebrate a little bit.

I tried to practise some that week, and then we went on vacation. So I obviously wasn't doing too much work there. I got some good work in last week before heading over.

Q. Any element today with the wind flipping that's really confusing with a golf course this hard?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't know if confusing is the right word, just challenging, especially when you get the rain involved. When you get a wet ball into the wind, it's amazing how short it goes.

I hit -- I think it was No. 2 today, I had 165 to the pin off a slight upslope, and I hit a hold 5-iron, which for me usually goes about 205. It went probably 155 at the most. Probably carried 150, and ended up 155, and I striped it.

Q. 50-yard difference?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah. Yeah, the slight upslope had something to do with that, but I mean, I flighted it down pretty good, and it's my 205 shot, and it went 155.

Q. Jordan was pissed you hit a better shot than him into 16 after he felt like he absolutely roped one. How did that feel to hit that shot?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It was nice, but he made the putt and I burned another edge, so it didn't really matter. I felt like all day I was hitting really good putts that were either lipping out or going right by the edge. Hopefully just continue to hit good putts the next couple days, and I'll see where it takes me.

Yeah, it's always fun playing with your buddies out there. We had a good time out there today.

Q. When does the juice of a major start to kick in? Is it on Monday? Is it on Thursday?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That's a good question. I feel like I'm always trying to do my best at every event. At the end of the day, I think the majors are always in the back of your head. You kind of know where they are.

I feel like I'm typically preparing the same way for each tournament, but like once the U.S. Open ended, I think my mind sometimes will automatically go to that when you're at home or when you're practising. I think the majors, they are the most important tournaments. I try to treat them all the same, but at the end of the day, in the back of your head, they're always kind of stuck there when you're preparing.

Especially in the off-season, I'm not thinking about too many regular tournaments when I'm preparing at home. I try to -- you know, the tournaments that I reflect on the most at the end of the year, I think, will be the majors.

Q. You talk about how you just get such a thrill out of winning. You really love winning tournaments. You're not alone.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I was going to say, I don't think I'm alone (laughter).

Q. When you win the Travelers and you've got a break planned, does any part of you think like I want to play again really shortly to keep the hot streak going?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Not really. Immediately after a win, I think winning out here takes a lot out of you, emotionally and physically. Most of it's emotionally, especially with the three weeks I had between the Memorial, the U.S. Open, and then Travelers.

All in all, it's been a pretty emotional year in general too. So it was nice to get a little bit of a break before we kind of head into the stretch of some big tournaments with it being the playoffs and having the Olympics coming up as well.

So it was nice to get a little bit of rest going into the end of the season.

Q. I'm wondering if you thought at all about like prepping differently for links golf. Obviously you're a slightly higher ball hitter. Just wondering if there was a different preparation for it.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I would say my stock shot is high, but I feel like I can hit it as low, if not lower, than anybody. One of my best strengths is being able to shape and hit the ball and hit all kinds of different shots when they're appropriate.

I think sometimes out here, especially off the tee, people just assume you want to hit every shot really low, but a lot of times when it gets firm out here -- even on days like today, typically you would have thought, if it's blowing into the wind on 1, 2, and 3, that I'd be hitting a shot really low. But the best shot for me actually to hit was a higher 3-wood because if I hit a low 3-iron, it wasn't going to chase out there very far, and if I hit a low 3-wood, it could chase into the bunkers. So for me the play was hitting a higher shot with the 3-wood.

I think more of it is the ability to hit all types of different shots out here. The play is not always necessarily a really low shot just because it's firm and it's links golf.

Q. When you burn a couple edges, do you take a deep breath? Do you curse under your breath? Do you grumble to yourself? How do you get over it?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's definitely frustrating when you're watching it three feet out and you think it's going to go in and it just doesn't.

At the end of the day, I pride myself on preparation and showing up ready to go, and if I hit a really good putt from 15, 20 feet -- greens aren't perfect. It's not a perfect surface. You get wind and all kinds of stuff -- and I'm lipping out, it's almost like you're just playing a numbers game. If I continue to hit really good putts, then eventually they will start falling in.

That's kind of how I felt today. I don't really feel like I made many putts, but I felt like I hit a lot of quality putts, which for me is really good.

Kind of the same thing, if I strike it really well and get a few bad bounces here and there, it's kind of the same thought.