Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler Meets With the Press 4/10/22

Speaker 1: (00:00)
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a privilege and honor to welcome our 2022 Masters champion, Scottie Scheffler. Scottie, you arrived to Augusta this week as the number one player in the world, an honor you earned just two weeks ago. Your play leading into the Masters this week makes it no surprise that you leave here with your first green jacket. Tell us how it feels.

Scottie Scheffler: (00:33)
It feels pretty good. I don’t know what to say, to be honest with you guys. I’m just really thankful to be in this position. I didn’t get to the press room in my dreams, so I don’t know, you guys are going to have to ask me some questions.

Speaker 1: (00:56)
Great. Well, you post the scores of 69, 67, 71 and 71, the only player in the field to play under par in each round this week, and befitting the number one player in the world, you took the lead on Friday afternoon and you never relinquished it. Congratulations on a spectacular week to earn your first Master’s victory. Questions? Here.

Speaker 3: (01:19)
Scottie, what has, what has Ted meant to you through this journey and what has Ted meant to you through this week?

Yeah, I mean, Ted, through this journey, he’s only worked for me now for, I don’t even know how many events, like maybe nine or 10? He’s doing pretty good. I can’t speak highly enough of Ted as a person and as a caddy. I respect him so much just as a person. He’s such a fun guy to be around. He’s a man of faith and I love him. I can’t say enough about him. I mean, the qualities you look for in a person, Ted embodies pretty much all of them. He’s humble, he’s hardworking, he’s honest. He’s a good time to be around. I mean, he’s an amazing guy and to be able to have him on the bag is so special.

Speaker 3: (02:14)
Well, you had played here before, so with him on your bag this week, were there insights that you hadn’t known about this place before?

I think we just did such a good of being really committed to what we were doing and that goes through all 72 holes. Just whatever we were trying to do, I knew exactly where I wanted to put the ball and if I was to miss it, which side of the golf course I could be on to where I could still get it up and down. I mean, I chipped it so good this week, and so we did such a good job of putting myself in positions to where we could still manage, even when I wasn’t swinging my best at times. I mean, he just knows this golf course so well, and I trust him so much on the golf course.

Speaker 1: (03:00)
Right. Dan.

Dan: (03:02)
Yeah, you mentioned winning this in your dreams and how you dreamed it. I’m wondering if you ever dreamed that you would kind of take the lead on Friday and just sort of a little bit run away with it. You never had that. I imagine you dreamed of hitting some big putt or one shot that in that back nine, but nobody really got that much close to you. Did you ever envision winning it in this manner, where you just sort of dominated the last three days?

I mean, I think the only thing I imagined was probably that walk up 18. I’ve seen some guys do that. The first one that comes to mind is watching Jordan make that walk up 18 with a huge lead, and definitely throughout the round today, when I built up a little bit of a lead, I didn’t want any stress towards the end of the day and I didn’t break my concentration until we got onto the green on 18. Once we got onto the green, I was like, “All right, I’m going to enjoy this.” Then had some fun with it and yeah, I really don’t know what to say. It was definitely nice to build up a lead and nothing’s safe out there on the back nine on this golf course. I’ve heard all the things that everybody says, “It doesn’t start till the back nine on Sunday. Anything can happen. Don’t hit it in the water on 12,” all the stuff. I just blocked most of that out and just tried to execute and hit good golf shots.

Speaker 1: (04:23)
Jeffrey.

Jeffrey: (04:24)
Scottie, what did you see as your biggest strength this week? Secondly, Randy commented the other day that you loved the big stage. Is that kind of the athlete inside you?

I guess so. It’s fun being in contention. I enjoyed yesterday and today on the golf course, thoroughly. Off the golf course, it’s much more difficult. Once I get out here on property, it’s fantastic. It’s so much fun, but trying to sleep at night and the slow mornings and the stress, it’s a long week. playing with the lead is not easy, especially at a golf tournament like this, where if you probably took a straw poll of the guys on tour, what golf tournament they would want to win, it’d be the Masters. Major championship golf, I mean, there’s so many reasons. Off the golf course, it’s stressful. On the golf course, it’s a heck of a lot of fun. So…

Jeffrey: (05:15)
Your biggest strength this week?

I think I stayed patient and trusted myself. I had a lot of nice up and downs too. If I was to pick one part of my game that excelled the most, I would say it was probably my lob wedge. Even today, I had some really good up and downs at the beginning of the round, and then just kept myself in position.

Speaker 1: (05:38)
Patrick?

Patrick: (05:39)
Scottie, hi there. Many congratulations and thank you very much for your time. Eight weeks ago today, you have your first PGA Tour victory. You now have four wins in your last six starts. Could you ever imagine back then how this was all going to play out and other than due to the fact you play great golf, did you ever see this coming? What do you put it down to?

I would say “no” to both of those. I’ve never been a guy that likes to look too far into the future, and so for me, just staying present has always been what works best for me. Even when I’d get asked the questions, “When are you going to get your first win? When are you going to do this?” All those different types of things that you get asked in rooms like this, and the only time I really thought about it was then. For me, I just I’m doing my best to just stay present and just enjoy the moment. That’s what I did most of today, and I just really don’t know what to say.

Patrick: (06:37)
Just a quick follow up. You’re a master champion now. That means you get to come back here for life. Just let that sink in for a few seconds. How does that feel? How do you compute to that?

Yeah, I mean, that’s the coolest part about this whole deal. I mean, this is such a fun golf course. It’s such a fun piece of property. I mean, it’s Augusta National, it’s about as cool as it gets. It’s so fun to play. I just can’t believe that I can come back for a lifetime and get to enjoy this golf course.

Speaker 1: (07:04)
Adam.

Adam: (07:06)
Scottie, how pivotal do you think the chip in was at the third hole?

I would say what is most pivotal was getting that ball up and down. To have it go in was obviously off the charts. But my main goal was just to get up and down, see it go in was definitely special, and then parring 4 and 5 was huge as well. Then after that, I kind of just started cruising. I felt comfortable with pretty much most of the aspects of my game. My swing maybe felt a little bit off, but other than that I felt like I wasn’t ever really going to make a bogie, and that was my goal. I just tried to hit good shots and that was really all I was thinking about.

Adam: (07:45)
How much did the growing up in the shadow of so many PGA Tour players at Royal Oak shape your interest in wanting to be a golf pro?

Yeah, I mean, I grew up around so many guys out there just watching them and learning from them. I wore pants when I was a kid at Royal Oaks because I wanted to play golf in the PGA Tour. I would wear pants and a collared shirt to like third grade class and get made fun of, rightfully so. I always wanted to be out here and I never expected it. I never expected to be sitting where I am now. You don’t expect things to come to you in this life. You just do the best that you can, and with the hand you’re dealt and just go from there. I never really thought I was that good at golf, so I just kept practicing and kept working hard and yeah, that’s just what I’m going to keep doing.

Speaker 1: (08:37)
Dylan.

Dylan: (08:39)
Scottie, how did you handle the late tee time today? What did you do last night? What’d you do this morning, and how many episodes of The Office did you watch?

Last night was pretty easy. I was tired. We went and got some food. I spilled my dinner in the car on the way home. That was extraordinarily frustrating. You can see Meredith is still laughing at me. She thought it was the funniest thing ever. I didn’t think it was so funny at the time. Last night was fine. This morning was a totally different story. I cried like a baby this morning. I was so stressed out. I didn’t know what to do. I was sitting there, I was telling Meredith, I was like, “I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’m not ready.” I go, “I don’t feel like I’m ready for this kind of stuff.” I just felt overwhelmed.

She told me, “Who are you to say that you’re not ready?” Who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life? What we talked about is that God is in control and the Lord is leading me, and if today’s my time, then it’s my time, and if I shot 82 today, somehow I was going to use it for his glory. Gosh, it was a long morning. It was long.

Dylan: (09:55)
Did you calm down at any point?

I think when she made me some more food, had a big breakfast. My stomach has been hurting for like two days straight, and so I would say I calmed down when I got to the course. Right when I got to the training room and started working with Troy, I was pretty calm.

Speaker 1: (10:16)
Doug?

Doug: (10:17)
Scottie, why do you think that happened? Why do you think you felt that way?

Thought what way?

Doug: (10:22)
How you did this morning?

I think because it’s the Masters. I’ve dreamed of having a chance to play in this golf tournament. I teared up the first time I got my invitation in the mail. We were fortunate enough to play here in college and I love this place. I love this golf course, and there’s just, if you’re going to choose a golf tournament to win, this would be the term I would want to win. You don’t know how many chances you’re going to get and so having a chance… I think I had a five shot lead on Friday and then a three shot lead going into today, I don’t know if you get better opportunities in that. You don’t want to waste them and as the human condition is just to make things bigger than they really are. Years from now, I would say people may not remember me as a champion and that’s fine, but in the moment you think it’s a lot bigger deal than it really is.

Doug: (11:17)
I suppose I ask because as we watch you over the last four days, I don’t know if anyone could have suspected that your stomach was hurting. You looked the model of cool and confidence out there. Were you faking us out?

Yeah. Maybe I should play more poker or something. No, I truly, I felt peace when I’m on the golf course. I think the hardest stuff is off the golf course. When I’m out there and once we get into the round, pretty much after parring the first hole, I was settled in, I felt good. Doesn’t mean my stomach’s going to feel any better. I remember when I was in college, I played in a couple US Opens and I always used to have indigestion the week and a half leading up to it, and that’s just how it was. My dad’s sitting there. I don’t remember the pills I was supposed to take, but it was weird. I guess I don’t have a good stomach. I couldn’t tell you why, but it’s something I’m used to.

Speaker 1: (12:10)
Ignacio.

Ignacio: (12:11)
Congratulations, Scottie. I heard you are a religious man. Did your faith play a significant part in this victory?

Yeah, I’d say so. Like I said earlier, what Meredith told me this morning is that we’re not in control of our lives, and so I spoke a little bit about what playing golf for me is like, and why I do it. I mean, my faith affects all aspects of my life, not just my life on the golf course, and so the Lord has given me a skill and I’m trying to use it for his glory. Outside of that, I’m just out here trying to do my best.

Speaker 1: (12:50)
David.

David: (12:51)
Yeah, Scottie, recent major winners such as Jon Rahm, Bryce, and J.T. have talked about the influence of Tiger on their game, whether it was influencing how they play or inspiration. Wondered if you were similarly influenced by him.

Oh yeah. I play Tiger’s irons. I wear his shoes. I wore his shirt this week. Yeah, Tiger on the golf course is just ridiculous. He’s done so much for the game of golf and I spoke about it a little bit at the beginning of the week. We’re so glad to have him back out here. He is the needle for the game of golf. He has completely changed the PGA Tour from when he came on 25 years ago, or maybe it’s 26 now. His YouTube clips are just such an inspiration for me. I remember watching him, the highlights of him winning in ’97, kind of running away with it, and he never really broke his concentration. That’s something that I reminded myself of today.

I tried not to look up, I tried to keep my head down and just keep doing what I was doing because I didn’t want to break my concentration. The minute I did was on 18 green when I finally got on there and I have a five shot lead and I’m like, “All right, look, now I can enjoy this,” and you saw the results of that, so thank you, Tiger. Yeah.

Speaker 1: (14:16)
Ian.

Ian: (14:17)
Hey Scottie, obviously you’ve won three times in the last couple of months, you had big Ryder Cup moments. I’m just curious if you’ve ever on a Sunday morning gotten that emotional where you were crying before some big Sunday afternoon was about to unfold, or is this the first time that happened?

This is the first time. I think it’s different being with the lead and it’s definitely different with it being a major and especially the Masters. This golf course, and this tournament is just different.

Speaker 1: (14:49)
Grant.

Grant: (14:51)
On a scale of one to 10, how good was your chip shot on number 1? And then on 15, how much clearance on your second shot? Then how many more rolls of the ball did you have before it got scary going down the hill on 15?

Number 1 was probably nine out of 10, little bump into that hill and then trickling it down there, and basically to kick in range. Definitely settled me in for the day because didn’t hit a good tee shot, hit a fantastic shot out of the trees, just hit a little too hard. Then the chip shot on 15, we talked about a couple different things. The approach shot, I was walking up to… or right when we got off the tee, I was like, “Go for it, Teddy?” He’s like, “Let it is.” I hammered that drive and I didn’t expect it to be over there behind the trees, but with the way the lie was, and I only had a 5 iron and so it’s kind of like, I mean, “It’s a 5 iron. I’m just trying to hit in that right bunker.”

If I push it, it goes in the crowd. If I pull it, it’ll go on the green. To us, it seemed like the safest play at the time and so that’s what we did. I hit a really good shot. I had to start at probably right edge of the bunker. Those trees were probably in line with the middle of the bunker, the ones right in front of me, and then after that, just trying to execute. I felt like, once again, just trusted Teddy and we were walking down seeing the layout, I just told him, I was like, “Hey man, thanks for that. I really don’t want to hit this wedge shot right now. Think it looks scary.”

Speaker 1: (16:19)
Tara?

Tara: (16:20)
Scottie, you’ve mentioned your family more than once and your sisters in particular. Just give us a sense of what it was like growing up, and if you were picked on doing the picking, just some of the dynamics. Really, if it feels… We often see families on this day, on Sunday, but does it feel kind of like a family win for you?

Yeah, for sure. I was telling Meredith I had some pretty cool moments this week. My older sister Callie caddied for me for a number of years during the summer and her favorite shot always was, “I love hitting this like low wedge.” Her favorite shot is when I can skip it in there, do a back pin, she kind of just would stay out of the way. It was fun for her. On number nine this week, I think it was the second round, the pin was weigh in the back and I hit this same shot I always hit. I love it and hit this low skipper, skip back there and nip by the pin. I kind of looked over and I saw her sitting there on the side of the green. I was like, “That’s pretty funny. She probably liked that shot a lot.”

My little sister Molly’s probably seen way more golf tournaments than she’s wanted to in her lifetime. But the game of golf means a lot to our family, and all three of my sisters played, Sara included and they definitely took it up because I was doing it. They tease me and I’m sure that will continue into the future, and I can’t thank them enough for their support.

Speaker 1: (17:43)
Michael.

Michael: (17:46)
Not looking to make you choose between Bruce Springsteen of New Jersey and Willie Nelson of Texas, but I am curious to know if you’re a music fan at all, and if you are, what kind of music do you like to listen to?

Yeah, so I do have influences from both. My dad, he loved Bruce, so I like Bruce too. Most of what I listen to is Texas country, and then I listen to some kind of older rock from like the seventies maybe. Honestly, I don’t know the time period. I’m kind of just making that up. I’ll send you the playlist. How’s that?

Michael: (18:17)
I’ll give you my number. Thank you.

Speaker 1: (18:20)
Owen.

Owen: (18:22)
Scottie, I had another question about your family. You said yesterday, I think I got this right, that your mum went to work and your dad did most of the looking after the kids, correct?

Correct. Yeah. I mean, they mean they obviously co-parented, but my mom worked most of the time, five days a week, and maybe sometimes more than that.

Owen: (18:41)
I just wonder if you could say, what was your mom’s job? At the time, was that considered unusual or modern or enlightened, because it is kind of a little modern thing now?

Wasn’t unusual for me to be… I didn’t know any different. Fortunately for me, I grew up with three sisters and my dad was there and he did a great job raising us. Both my parents I think would do anything for any of us. They didn’t parent perfectly obviously, but for me, they did the best they could all the time and I love them for that. I can’t speak highly enough of the hard work that they’ve put in. Man, I can’t put into words. I really can’t.

Speaker 1: (19:28)
Michael.

Michael: (19:29)
Yeah. Scottie, you said yesterday that earlier in your career, you had trouble concentrating a little bit on the earlier rounds. I’m just wondering, when it is Sunday and you obviously don’t have that many holes left and the stakes are pretty clear, does it kind of clarify for you? Is it easier, in a way?

Oh yeah, definitely easier late on Sunday to focus. Like I said a little bit earlier, I didn’t break my concentration once. Maybe on 17, I got a little bit loose and then 18, when I got to the green I’ll give myself a free pass on that one. I’d kind of poke my head up every now and then just to thank the fans. They were cheering for me all day and I want to acknowledge them because they’re a part of this as well. But for the most part, I didn’t look at leaderboards. I kept my head down. I kept pushing, kept trying to hit good shots and stay aggressive, really. Because the back nine, this golf course is funny out there because the minute you play overly conservative, bogies just start racking up like that. You have to play conservatively aggressive and hit good shots. You can’t just limp your way in, and so I knew that going into the back nine and all I was trying to do was just take good shots.

Speaker 1: (20:41)
All right, maybe just a couple more questions. Kyle.

Kyle: (20:44)
Yes. Scottie, I’m curious, you’ve talked a lot about just your desire to compete and how much that means to you. How do you balance that desire to compete and to immerse yourself in it without letting it kind of define who you are as a person?

Yeah. I think that all goes back to my faith. The reason why I play golf is because I’m trying to glorify God and all that he’s done in my life, and so for me, my identity isn’t a golf score. Like Meredith told me this morning, she says, “If you win this golf tournament today, if you lose this golf tournament by 10 shots, if you never win another golf tournament again,” she goes, “I’m still going to love you. You’re still going to be the same person. Jesus loves you and nothing changes.” All I’m trying to do is glorify God and that’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m in this position, and so for me, it’s not about a golf score.

Kyle: (21:33)
Does that free you up in the moment? Does it make you less nervous?

A hundred percent. If I was trying to win this golf tournament when I was in high school, if my high school self was trying to win this golf tournament, I would’ve been a totally different person out there on the golf course. Every day when we go out there, Meredith always prays for peace because that’s what I want to feel when I’m out there on the golf course. I want to feel peace and have fun and just feel His presence, and so that’s her prayer every day. That’s my prayer, and I really felt that today. I felt at peace. Like I said, when I got to the golf course, I was pretty much settled in. It’s just the morning that was tough.

Speaker 1: (22:08)
Last question.

Kyle: (22:09)
Great, thank you.

Speaker 1: (22:09)
Marty?

Marty: (22:11)
Scottie, you were discussing with us that you’ve dreamt of this since you were in what, first, second, third grade or whatnot, so I imagine you’ve dreamt of that final putt. You’ve dreamt of talking to Jim Nantz in Butler Cabin. You’ve dreamt of having a competitor put that jacket on your back. You’re maybe 90 minutes into this, hour into of this. How does the reality of this moment compare to those dreams you had as a little boy?

That’s a good question. I don’t think anything’s sunk in at the moment. My head’s still kind of spinning. I was so focused for so long this week. Major championship golf is brutal, and especially around a golf course like this and the conditions we played it in. You can see the scores, this golf course was not playing easy this week, and it was such a mental grind. Winning this golf tournament, I’m so humbled to be here. I’m just glad to be a part of the field. I’m glad to be able to have a chance to come out here and compete and to be able to win this tournament, I can’t say enough about it.

Speaker 1: (23:15)
Well, Scottie, maybe you could just go through for posterity the birdies and bogies and others in terms of what clubs you hit in and kind of length the putt, et cetera, for historical purposes.

For today?

Speaker 1: (23:24)
Yes.

Well, so number three, I hit a great drive right down the middle, chipped it on the green to like three feet, made the putt. Then number seven, you got to get the ball in play. I hit a nice three down there. I think I had like 135 to the stick and hit a great wedge shot in there and made the putt. Number 10, I would really consider the only hiccup of the day. I kind of just made a poor swing with my seven iron there. 11 and 12 were amazing up and downs, and then 13, I missed a shorty there, but that was really, really hard putt.

Number 14 was basically the same exact shot I tried to hit on number seven. That’s what Teddy told me as I was walking in. He goes, “Same thing he did on seven,” and I hit a great shot in there again. Then 15, just trying to keep the pedal down, went for the green in two with a 5 iron and hit it just over the green, not an easy up and down, hit a really nice chip in there to about 15 feet and rolled that one in. Then just coasted through the last few holes, just try to stay focused up, until 18 green.

Speaker 1: (24:32)
Great. Well, Scottie, thank you and congratulations again on this incredible accomplishment.

Thank you. Appreciate it.

Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler Meets With the Press 4/10/22

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