Xander Schauffele Press Conference | 2024 PGA Championship Round 2

Watch Xander Schauffele’s Round 2 press conference during the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. 

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Contested each May, the PGA Championship is the second major championship in golf’s annual rotation, and perennially features the strongest field in the men’s game based on the Official World Golf Rankings. Known for dramatic finishes and notable champions, the Wanamaker Trophy—which has been awarded to the winner since 1916—is inscribed with names such as Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player.

The 2024 PGA Championship is set to take place between 13-19 May at Valhalla Golf Club. The reigning champion is Brooks Koepka.

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Xander shley is with us now at the 106 PJ Championship we’ll jump right into questions starting right here with Doug on seven what kind of um attitude have you brought to Balla do you think Xander I mean you it looks just quiet and determined at the same time if that makes any sense was hoping you could say it better than I did but go ahead yeah I mean when you haven’t won a golf tournament in a few years you have to be pretty resilient so um I’m just patient and just trying to play the best golf I can and stay out of my way I know I’m playing really good golf right now and um all I can do is focus on sort of my process and my talk with Austin and that’s about it Mike one Xander coming off of last week how do you then mentally prepare for this week given how well you played last week but you didn’t get it done how do you how do you come then into a major week on these backtack big tournaments uh not too difficult to be honest you’re you’re bummed out you didn’t win um or I’m I was bummed out I didn’t win but I knew I was playing really well uh I had a couple hiccups there on Sunday at the wrong time Rory played unbelievably well it was a it was a combo for a big big win for him and um I know I know how I’m hitting it and my biggest concern was just having enough rest to to really learn this golf course in time before we teed off on Thursday that kind of leads to my other question which was first time Golf Course for you um what have you seen in it that you like so much you know I’d say I I’m not really sure you know uh yesterday I saw a lot of putts go in um had some good numbers uh but for the most part you know it’s it’s a big ballpark of course you know Championship feel to me and um typically I like that kind of feel up to Mike 19 Xander what was your initial reaction to everything that happened this morning with Scotty I mean first off the fatal accident is is definitely the worst thing I’m I’m sure Scotty would agree with that uh you know anyone passing anywhere near golf tournaments it’s never something that should ever happen so um that for starters and then you know you felt like it was sort of a prank or something when you see a mug shot of Scotty but you know I know Scotty pretty well we share share Physio and we’ve been you know playing golf you know for a few years now and I know he’s a solid guy and there’s no Mal intent by him uh to anyone so hopefully he goes out unscathed but uh Sky’s a good dude so hopefully he’s fine Alex on eight can you talk about what you expect or what you need from Chris and Austin over the next two days just sort of you know bumpers I guess uh I can fall back on both of them if if I need help um you know typically when you’ve put in some good work you just sort of have to play you have to make the right decisions uh you have to pick the right shots and you just play golf so that’s exactly what I’m I’m trying to do right now Austin’s been on your bag for a while is there do you do you want him to help you will he call you off a shot will he will you help will he help you on reads I mean basically do you feel that that rapport with each other that he can do whatever he needs to do when he sees something that he feels like you’re not doing what you need to do yeah absolutely uh Austin’s is uh he’ll do anything uh and everything pretty much that I need him to do uh you know he’s he’s that kind of guy so whether it’s reading a putt or you know coming out early uh to see the wind or watching a bunch of shots on coverage or you know bringing me food or something he’ll he’ll do anything to help me Dylan you’re pretty Keen yesterday on saying hey guys this just been one round but is there anything different or challenging about playing with a first round lead hey guys it’s just been two rounds it’s just 36 holes it’s a really good starts to tournament I’m playing some really nice golf um and uh that’s kind of it and how would you compare this week’s test to last week’s test obviously a lot softer and uh but yeah otherwise how would you just compare these playing Styles definitely different just from a I’d say a window perspective no matter sort of how low or high you hit an iron you can kind of get to stop um we’re off zoa right now which you can kind of get the ball to jump at times uh different kinds of rough thicker rough um last week was sort of overseed Ry I believe so in terms of the biggest differences just feels like your landing spot you know if you have 200 yards out here you’re trying to fly 200 yards last week it would be like a you know where can we not get up and down from type deal because the greens are so firm this week it’s you know you still have those moments where if you shorts side yourself doesn’t matter if the greens are soft you’re still going to chip it to 20 feet so uh but I’d say Landing spots probably the biggest difference Doug does it does it help um to have a a leaderboard that’s Bunch like this a course that’s soft like this uh to just keep your head down blinders on I think so yeah I mean I think I think as soon as you know 62 was posted there’s just blood in the water I feel like these you know everyone you know if it was rolled reversed it’s sort of like everyone feels like they can shoot low now it’s just kind of how it goes out here so um yeah I think it definitely helps just to keep the head down at least for now it’s only two rounds it gets it can get hard if you’ve got yourself a a pretty healthy lead through 36 because there’s there becomes an expectation I think by the people around you did did you sense any of that last week at at Quail uh different play style I I mean I didn’t expect someone to to you know be eight under on Sunday espe the guy I’m playing with you know I know all the top players are capable of doing it but uh tough timing for me obviously over to Michael 11an hey Xander I’m just curious how over the course of your career your mindset has shifted or changed up at all when holding a lead going into the weekend I know you said it’s just 36 holes but just curious how that has evolved as youve played more and gained more experience yeah I mean I think when you’re we’re trying to climb this mountain here um let’s put skot shuffler at the very tip top of it and you know everyone else sort of somewhere down on the hillside you know grabbing on for dear life is what it feels like uh you just get comfortable in certain times uh so you know the more times have a lead the more comfortable I’ll feel the better I’ll sleep um and I think I’ll just get more confidence the more I can do it Ryan on five sander in your career do you find that you play better when you’re happy and content or when you’re a little bit pissed off it’s a mix bag um overall I’d say if you take a you know a run of 30 events I’d probably say happy um just because I’m smiling doesn’t mean I’m not happy when I’m out there but um there’s time where I played well pissed off as well it just it varies how’d you feel coming in this week happy and Contender a little pissed off uh yeah just a mixed bag it depends on what we talk about I guess uh you know you ask me enough questions it probably piss me off but um most of the time I’m pretty happy go lucky guy you know Jeff Xander kind of an odd Friday where you’re playing so late in the afternoon you go out and bir for your first 10 how how big was that in kind of establishing that role again yeah it was great um definitely didn’t have the finish I wanted I felt like I was hitting some really good shots in there um couple unlucky breaks in the Fairway U but that start was nice Definitely kind of settled me in um making that long putt on the third hole was uh was definitely a nice snag to make me feel a little bit more comfortable we’ll wrap it up with Alex on eight I I don’t want to be down I don’t want to be the bummer of this conversation but Debbie Downer yeah thank you sorry getting older can you can you explain what happened on the second shot at 18 because I think out of two days I hadn’t seen anything close to that yeah um if you scroll through enough shots today of everyone that was in the middle of the Fairway that felt like they hit a good shot you just you know we’re pro golfers we don’t we’re not professional mud readers so um I was praying that the mud on my ball wasn’t going to do something and I I felt like I made a really nice pass at it just the same pass I’ve been making on the last you know six holes leading all the way back to the for and I hit on uh on 14 there or 13 and uh I look up my balls just duck hooking across the the property and uh it was just a just a mud ball in the middle of Fairway so that pisses me off for sure what were you most pleased with today what shot what shot stood out I just I just hung tough I felt like um I just tried to hit as many good shots after good shots as possible um so I felt like I was able to do that and despite you know the mud and this the you know the delay and all those things I iel like I really just got got in my zone there and and made a lot of good swings so I’m proud of that thanks for your time Xander thank you