WM PHOENIX OPEN

February 9, 2025

Will Chandler

TPC Scottsdale

Quick Quotes

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Q. Just an awesome week, going to have a top-10 finish as a Monday qualifier. What are you thinking about right now? How does it feel?

WILL CHANDLER: It feels good for sure. I'm not thinking about much. I treat it like any other tournament. I'm leaving a little happier than I did my first two events, but at the end of the day, it's golf. I'm definitely, definitely pleased with the week, but I'm excited to get back to work and get home. I have a lot I can improve on for sure.

Q. Laying up on 17, what went into that decision?

WILL CHANDLER: I was not trying to lay up. I just popped up my 3-wood.

Q. Was that nerves or just a bad swing?

WILL CHANDLER: No, I'm not very good with a 3-wood off the tee. I shouldn't have teed it up. I should have just hit it off the deck.

Q. 18, how good did it feel to save par?

WILL CHANDLER: That was nice for sure. I mean, I hit a bad tee shot again, and I had nothing in the bunker, so I just pitched it out, and that's all I had. My wedge game has been pretty solid all week, so felt nice to -- it was closer than it looked from the fairway. I got up there, and I was like, oh, wow, that's a tap-in.

Q. What's your favorite memory from this week as you think back?

WILL CHANDLER: Maybe when I've hit it in the crowd, just being in the crowd and hearing the things they say probably. It's kind of funny. It's awesome. I love it, getting barked at with my Georgia head cover and stuff. That's been awesome.

Q. Is that the first time you've been barked at in a tournament?

WILL CHANDLER: In a tournament, yeah, probably. But I've been to in Georgia games. Definitely not the first time I've been barked at. I know what they're saying.

Q. Had you met Scottie Scheffler before?

WILL CHANDLER: No, not before today, no.

Q. What did you think when you saw that pairing?

WILL CHANDLER: I mean, he's an amazing golfer. He's a great person, too. Him and Cam, they're awesome. I didn't know either of them, but they couldn't have been nicer.

Q. Did you guys talk at all?

WILL CHANDLER: A little bit. Obviously you're out there doing your own thing. A little bit here and there. But they were great. They're obviously amazing players.

Q. What do you think you would have been doing this week if not -- like if you had one shot higher on the final day of Q-school, where would you be right now?

WILL CHANDLER: Probably playing in Bogota or home practicing. Doing golf somewhere for sure.

Q. Is it kind of cool in the sense that just thinking about how you started the week without a guarantee of a tee time, you had to go low on Monday, you talked at final stage about going to Mondays, and you kind of created your own reality with a week that could change your season?

WILL CHANDLER: Yeah, it's definitely long days, but the weeks go by fast. It feels like just yesterday I was waiting around to see if I actually got in on Monday. But it's been a wild week but a good one for sure.

Q. What inspired you to do the Monday?

WILL CHANDLER: I had no other option really. I wasn't in the tournament, so I was going to go do the qualifier for sure.

Q. You described playing in this tournament kind of like being in a football environment earlier this week. What was it like with the big crowd following you and Scheffler?

WILL CHANDLER: I heard a lot of "Scottie, Scottie," which was funny. It was great. It was awesome. I love it. I love the atmosphere. It was all good. The crowds were awesome.

Q. How did you notice the crowds kind of changed throughout the week as you climbed up the leaderboard?

WILL CHANDLER: I don't know. They were just screaming stuff. I have some buddies here, so if they call me by my nickname, I'm like, oh, there's my buddies. But the crowds were great all week. Even on Tuesday when I showed up, I'm like, oh, my goodness, this is amazing. This is awesome. It was good.

Q. On 14 after you hit a beautiful chip, Scottie said, "nice shot, Will." What did it mean to hear that when you guys were in the heat of competition?

WILL CHANDLER: It was nice. He was great all day. Like I said, he's an amazing player, but he was awesome. He couldn't have been nicer. He seems like a great person.

Q. In terms of crowds, what was the biggest crowd you had played in front of before?

WILL CHANDLER: Way smaller than this for sure. I don't know, probably one of my first two TOUR events, Amex or Farmers probably.

Q. This is the last Monday qualifier for this tournament before field restructuring. Is it cool knowing that as the last Monday qualifier for this tournament, you finished top 10 and put on a show?

WILL CHANDLER: Yeah, it was good. I wish I could have done a little better. But yeah, that's nice. I don't know the history of how the Monday qualifiers have done in this event, but it's nice.