Q. You know Xander's success here and his history of success; how much will that come into play do you think on the weekend?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: For me, I don't --
Q. You know you've got to beat him kind of thing.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I'm just going to go out there and do my thing and go out and try and play good golf.
Xander obviously has a great track record around here, but paying attention to what other guys do on the golf course has never served me too well.
To be honest with you, when you're playing with somebody who is playing good, it's nice seeing good shots, nice seeing putts go in. Yeah.
Q. You can feed off that a little bit?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think so.
Q. 9-under for two days; what are you happy with and is there anything you're not happy with?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, I'm happy only making one bogey. That was a one-putt bogey, so really at the end of the day it was a pretty good bogey.
I feel like I've given myself a lot of looks; I've kept the ball in position for the most part. Had a couple bad swings off the tee today, but other than that given myself a lot of looks, and yeah, playing good.
Q. What have you learned about yourself playing with a lead this season?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think it's a position I'm comfortable in. I like being in positions where I'm able to win tournaments, and it's something I've grown more comfortable with over time.
I played well with the lead at the Masters this year, and that was definitely a lot of pressure. This week is definitely a good amount of pressure, as well.
But I've been playing well, and just hoping to do some more of that the next two days.
Q. You spoke at the Masters about the inner peace you feel when you're out there in the heat of battle, your Christian faith. How big a part do you think that's going to play at an event like this?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, for sure. The way I approach tournaments is when I get to the tournament, I feel like I've done everything I could to have played well. I've done my work in the gym, I've done my work practicing, I've played, and I'm in a good head space.
So when I show up on the first tee I'm able to play comfortably knowing that I've done everything that I could, and the rest isn't up to me. I'm just going go out there and try and play good golf. That's how I've approached every tournament since I've been out on TOUR, and that's how I'm approaching this one, as well.
Q. Do you feel like you're the man to beat? You're at the top of the men's global rankings; you're the reigning Masters champion.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I guess that's more up to you guys. Right now I'm on top of the leaderboard, and that stuff can definitely change. For me I'm just going out and trying to play good. I don't really pay attention to the rankings. I don't really pay attention to much else.
For me it's just trying to stay in a good head space and just go out and play good golf.
Q. The rankings say you're the top ranked men's golfer in the world. Do you feel like you are?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That's a good question. I'm not quite sure. For me, I don't look at a lot of social media. I don't read too much news about golf. I try and just kind of stay in my own lane. That's served me well over the years.
All I'm really trying to do is just keep on getting a little bit better. I don't make huge changes in my swing, I don't make huge changes with how I approach the game, and it's served me well over time.
I'm just trying to improve a little bit.
Q. Does a six-shot lead -- does tomorrow feel any different with a two-shot lead instead of a six-shot lead?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't think so. Today it was only the second round of the tournament. I think that's part of it that's a little bit weird, is you talk about a six-shot lead, but it's pretty weird to have that after one round of golf.
For me I'm still looking at it like a four-day event, and right now after two days I'm in position to win the tournament. Going into tomorrow I'm just going to go out and try and play good golf.
Q. If you look back at the Masters and anything else I'm missing, at what point do you start paying attention in terms of -- I forgot the size of your lead at Augusta. Was it five going into the last day?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It may have been five after 36 and then three after -- yeah, it was three.
Q. At what point does it feel like real contention, does the tournament feel real to you?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, it feels real when I step up on the first tee box at each one. It gets magnified a little bit I would say as the tournament goes on, but like the Masters, I put myself in a good position after 36 holes to where I was able to just go out and play, and I feel like I'm still in that position right now. If I go out and play really, really good golf, I should be in position to win the tournament on Sunday.
That's how it felt at Augusta, and I'm hoping to do more of that this week.
Q. When do you start thinking about winning?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, at the Masters I did on 18 green the last day and I four-putted. (Laughter.)
I try really just not to think about it. For me, just kind of going out, plotting along and hitting good shots and just trying to stay in position and hit quality shots is all I'm focused on.
Q. But you are a leaderboard watcher?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think it's hard not to see what goes on, especially if you're in the final group. Like Masters Cam and I were really the -- we had kind of extended ourselves from the field I felt like, and so just inherently just by being around you know kind of where you're at.
It's one of those things that I wasn't going to focus on too much.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports