FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP

August 15, 2024

Xander Schauffele

TPC Southwind

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you characterize that round for you?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Really good start. Then kind of pulled a lot of short clubs throughout, I guess, the back nine. It was good to go bogey-free. Could have snuck a couple bogeys in there. Overall going around this property bogey-free is always a good thing.

Q. What do you like about Scottie's game?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Just now playing with him a little bit more, played a lot of rounds with him at the Olympics, he really doesn't miss a shot often. His golf ball is either, like, perfect or it's like a three- or four-yard pull or three- or four-yard push. If he's got good sight lines with Teddy, it seems like he's always in the fairway and always in the hole.

He makes golf really boring, which is what all of us really want to do because tee to green he's a monster, and now he's making putts, so it's great for everyone else.

Q. Is that annoying?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's definitely something to strive for. When all of us are playing really well, we make it look pretty easy and boring, as well, and that's what we shoot for. He just does it more often.

Q. You said you didn't love how you finished in Paris. What did you see today that you did like?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, a good start. Worked with Chris the last couple days just to try to get away from some of the stuff that made me miss a few shots on the back nine in Paris. Some of it crept in again. Like I said, kind of pull kind of flipped a couple short irons that I'm not super fired up about. Always more work to do.

Q. On 14 did it look any different for you? It was kind of harder to find the flag.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: 14, the par-3, just with the extra build there on the left? Yeah, come the weekend I'm sure it'll feel -- I heard what you said about you have your sort of FedEx logo in the back or the FedExCup logo in the back to aim at. I was kind of walking around the hole when I was trying to hit my four-footer, so I did notice some more builds there on the left, and I think come the weekend once it fills up, it might start to feel like a more exciting hole. It's a really good par-3.

Q. When it's as hot as it is, what's the balance of going to the range and working on a couple things versus, you know what, I'll see you tomorrow?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I see a few guys hogging the shade there on that corner. It's a popular spot that gets worn out quickly. You don't see anyone on this side of the range.

Just a good balance. Just making sure you're eating the right stuff, feeling the right way. I'll be fine to hit a small basket. It's part of the job.

Q. Did it feel like the Playoffs today?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I think so. I mean, just being here feels like it. It is a marathon with the heat, sort of a positioning battle. Scottie is so far ahead. Even if I win this week, I don't think I'm going to clip him. There's that. I think it's sort of just getting your swing in the right place, seeing some balls go in and trying to clean up your process with your caddie to make sure you're sort of moving in the right direction come Colorado, come East Lake.

Q. Even if you guys keep playing the way you're playing, which is really good, at the very worst you probably go into East Lake two shots back with 72 holes in front of you. That feels like pretty good odds, doesn't it?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, like I said, come East Lake it's a little bit of a free-for-all. It does feel like you're level with everyone. Even if you win 10 times in a season, you shoot 2-over your first round and someone shoots 8-under, you're like, sick. Really cool. In order to not shoot that weird 2-over round that comes at the wrong time, you really have to stay sharp, use these weeks to stay really sharp.

For myself and Scottie and all the guys who are in that top 10, you're just fortunate to have a really strong year and get as many points as you can early so you can afford to have a weird round or afford to work on some things. When push comes to shove, when you're at East Lake, it's game on. You need to be ready.

Q. Three straight birdies to start the day. How important was that for momentum?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it's good. It's helpful for sure. It's a property where you can kind of go the wrong way quickly and I feel like it's hard to pick up shots throughout the round. You just really have to be in the fairway. Fairway first on every hole is kind of how it goes. You're playing a little bit of a guessing game with how far your ball is going off certain lies. But each day you should be getting sharper and sharper.

Q. For a San Diego kid, do you know why East Lake seems to be such a perfect fit for you?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I don't know. I'm trying to tell myself this place is a little bit like East Lake. There's a little bit less water at East Lake, but I don't know what it looks like now, but at least before Green came in. I don't know if he changed a lot of features of each hole there, but East Lake, you hit it in the rough, you're trying to push it around the green to get up-and-down, and you're in the fairway you have a green light and the ball flies forever and the greens are really good. I haven't played great here, but I'm trying to trick my brain and say this is kind of like an East Lake-ish course, so just figure it out.

Q. The format of the Playoffs, it looks like you're going to be spending a lot of time with Scottie the next three weeks --

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it's great.

Q. Is there anything that you might learn about this guy? Are you going to know all these favorite TV shows by the end?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, we got to know each other a little bit better after the Olympics, sort of playing a lot of those rounds together. We had the same physio. We were familiar, very familiar and comfortable. He's becoming a good friend just being out here and competing against him.

Yeah, like he said, we're here to try and win, and if someone is in the way, you've got to step over them.