Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I played the Junior Ryder Cup here in 2012. We played at Olympia Fields, and we played a few holes over here. I went to the Ryder Cup that year. I hadn't been back until the practice session a week ago or whatever it was, week or two, yeah.
Q. You're just going to say the first teammate that pops in your head in response to these questions. Most likely to be late for the bus?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Xander.
Q. Most likely to bring the energy?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Justin.
Q. Most competitive?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That's a hard one (laughter). It's all 12 equally, I think.
Q. Best dressed?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: We're all wearing team uniforms (laughter). It's all of us again. No, I don't know who would be best dressed.
Q. Most likely to talk the most trash?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Probably Xander again.
Q. In your experience playing in town, the events you've had, what's the support been like that you've noticed from the community, from the golf community in Chicago? What would it mean to have a regular tournament here like we used to have?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I felt like I grew up playing a ton of golf in Chicago. I think the golf is really good, especially this time of year. Yeah, it would be really nice to get another tournament here as part of our new schedule. I'm sure with the size of the city and the amount of really good golf courses, it seems like that would be something that I think the Tour would be able to accomplish. I'm hoping for that in the future.
The support and the crowds, I feel like, have always been really good. I'm trying to remember some of the tournaments we played here. I remember Olympia Fields, we did that a couple times. You'd have to remind me where else we played around here.
Q. You were here once.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Here once, yeah, that was before my time. Yeah, I feel like the --
Q. Cog Hill.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Cog Hill was before my time. I grew up playing a ton of amateur golf here. I always played the Western Am. It was here a lot.
Q. You were at Cog Hill then?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, we did. We played Beverly once. We played NCAAs at Rich Harvest Farms.
Q. There's Kemper Lakes.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Trying to think. But either way, Chicago has got good golf.
Q. Along those lines (indiscernible)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It depends on the city. We get some really, really great support in some of our small towns, and you have some tournaments, like the one in L.A., they kind of limit the amount of people that can come in there.
It's not that the tournament lacks energy, but it doesn't bring the energy like a Travelers does. You show up to Travelers, and it's a little bit of a different feeling. It really just depends on the area and how long the tournament's been there would be a more contributing factor.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That's more out of my view. I don't set the schedule or anything like that. I really don't have much input on it at all. No, not really.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I'm always focused on my execution, and that's what I focus on at every tournament. That's what I continue to focus on these weeks. Match play can be a different bug sometimes. I think some of the flukiness of the format of match play creates a different level of excitement, I think, for the fans.
I'm always excited to play in these tournaments. Yeah, I feel like I'm due.
Q. You had a good team record the last Presidents Cup, not so great the last two Ryder Cups. Is there anything about it that's just fluky, or do you find that maybe it was hard to get a good partner or that the format was difficult for you? Is there any explanation, or is it just --
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think you can always play better. I always feel like -- every time I go out, I feel like I can always play better. That's part of what's great about our game is to continue to try to figure stuff out and continue to improve.
In the team format, when you look at best ball and alternate shot, there is a little bit of flukiness there for sure. Sometimes you're up against guys that have played really good.
It's very easy, I think, after tournaments to play armchair quarterback and feel like you can do things differently. Going into this one, I feel like my game's in a good spot. Feel very comfortable with the direction our team's heading, and just excited to get the week started.
Q. Did you feel that you found yourself a good partner in Russell two years ago in Montreal? You guys had a good record there.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I always feel confident in my partners. If we didn't step up on the first tee and feel confident, those guys wouldn't be standing there with me. I've been confident in all the partners I've had across formats over the years.
Q. Do you buy into the idea that maybe some partners try too hard to do well by you?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I feel like that's part of the balance in team golf. It's just different. It's totally different than playing a regular tournament over the course of 72 holes. Over 18 holes, anything can happen. Anything can happen in alternate shot. And best ball you can get away with a lot more. It's all about making birdies.
It's much different than just regular tournament golf. I mean, and then just going into it, like just focus on my execution. I can only control what I can control, and that's going out there and trying to hit good shots and being a good partner for whoever it is that I'm out there with.
I've forged some really good relationships that have lasted a long time with the guys that I've played with. Like I said, just excited to get this week started.
Q. Is that any different than a regular stroke play tournament? Your approach, the way you come into this tournament, how is it different?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's different in terms of most of the tournament play that we have this week is with a partner. So a lot of my preparation is done with my partner and the guys that I'm going to be playing with in whatever format it is.
Whether it's figuring out golf balls or strategies going into certain holes, like who's going to tee off first, I feel like in these tournaments you spend a lot of time with the guys you're going to be playing the matches with just because it's not just me out there anymore. I've got a partner.
Q. Who's that?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, exactly (laughter). Somebody that's not Teddy out there where I'm learning kind of how they interact. You're kind of put into these new situations where -- even some of my best friends, I don't know exactly what to say to them in the heat of the moment.
So a lot of learning those types of tics and stuff like that of how to be a good partner to whoever I'm with out there is part of it as well, and that's a big part of the preparation going into these next few weeks.
Q. Do you feel any additional expectations just given what you've done in the game?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I always want to show up and try to do my best. When you think about expectations and all that stuff, all I can control is what I can control, and that's going out and trying to execute. A successful week for me this week is not necessarily winning all five matches. It's showing up and controlling what I can control and going out there and doing my best.
Sometimes there can be flukiness. Sometimes it can go your way, and sometimes it cannot go your way. I can think of matches I've won at these tournaments and felt like I didn't play my best, and played some really good golf and haven't been able to win the matches. Just controlling what I can control and going out there and trying to hit good shots.
Q. There was a lot of emotion that came out of you during that big whooping at Marco Simone. There was a lot of emotion that came out against Tom Kim last time in Montreal. It's different from anything we've seen from you in a tournament, outside of maybe an 18th green here and there. What is it about this that turns you into an animal?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, the Tom Kim thing, it was just like, "Be quiet, Tom." It was like (laughter) -- that was actually funny because Tom and I, we're really good buddies. I was excited to get out there and play with him. We were going to have a lot of fun.
It was the same thing I would have done at home, the exact same thing, if we were playing like a wolf match or something. He holed a 20-, 25-footer, I think it might have been his first birdie putt of the day, and he was celebrating like he'd just won the tournament. So then you knock one in on him, you're like, all right, let's just chill out a little bit.
I think that was all in really good fun. Sometimes you see the emotion because playing for your team and your country is a lot bit different. You saw a lot of emotion out of me playing for the gold medal. Playing for your country represents something different for us and something that's, I think, greater than our team as well.
I'm always excited to get to these events and have a partner by your side and go out there and try to have some fun and win some matches.
Q. If you had done that to Tom in Dallas, would you have said it that loud?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: If he was that loud, I would have made sure he'd heard me. He was trying to run off the green a little bit.
Q. Is it true that Si Woo has never beaten you?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: You can ask Si Woo. Si Woo would remember better than me.
Q. (Regarding the group text)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I'm probably the worst texter on the team easily. I don't know how the other team texts, but I'm probably worse than them too. And some of those guys English is their second language, and I'm probably even worse than them at texting.
So I don't know. I've chimed in a few times, but not much.
Q. Along those lines, do you sense a natural chemistry? A lot of you are on Tour together.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think when you look at the core of our team the last few years, we've all been very, very close. There's different levels to that. I think you can be really close with somebody and maybe not be the best teammate.
I think right now we've struck a really good balance of being great friends and having fun with each other, but also understanding like -- especially when you're with guys. Giving each other the needle is a ton of fun. Guys love doing that to each other.
I think when you get in the team environment, the guys this week have been really supportive of each other. I feel like our team environment is the best it's ever been. I really feel like we're working as a unit now, and like I said, excited to get the week going.
Q. Is there anyone on the International Team who stands out to you?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think all 12 of them are really good players. I don't think they'd be on this team if they weren't really talented.
You look at guys like Si Woo, he's one of my buddies, I play a ton of golf with him at home. He had a really, really high FedExCup finish this year without winning a tournament. That's something that's really impressive, to put the consistency that he put together for the course of the entire year. He's such a talented guy. It's exciting to see him play some really good golf again.
Q. Have you given any advice to Jackson?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: When he asks, yeah.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, he's very new. He's basically right out of school. I think the guys have done what they can to kind of make him feel comfortable in the team room. By the time I showed up to the practice session, he was already pretty comfortable. He didn't need a whole lot from me.
Q. You were talking about the preparation is a bit different. Other than that, how would this compare to any other event you play in?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think you try to make it as normal as possible, but I think these weeks there's more obligations and more stuff going on, whether it be -- shoot, I don't know. Dinners, media times, bus rides. Like it's always a bit different at these tournaments, but you try to make it feel as normal as possible.
My on-course preparation is always pretty much the same. I'm kind of a guy who falls into a routine. These weeks, I think our captains have always given us or done a good job of putting us in a position we feel we can succeed. My prep always feels pretty normal.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't think it matters either way, to be honest with you. My job and what I feel like I need to do when I go out there on the 1st tee is step up there and try to execute. That's pretty much all I'll be thinking about. It doesn't matter who's favored in the match. If we did everything on paper, things would be a lot less interesting.
You've got to go out and play the matches. It doesn't matter who's favored or who's had a better year. You've got 18 holes, and you've got to go out there and try to win the match.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, that's something just to help get more visual. Sometimes seeing something different than just the hole there will help me get more visual with the way I do things. That's all I'm trying to do with that, just see a slightly different visual, kind of get a different view of things.
Q. How are the greens?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: They're good. They have a lot of slope. They've been definitely faster than I thought they'd be after all the rain. We got a ton of rain to start this week. The golf course seems to be responding really well.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: They felt pretty fast to me from all the rain, especially with the amount of pitch I think that you have in the greens. They're pretty quick.
Q. Did you have to sing a song when you were a rookie?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, like our motto has always been everything in the team room kind of stays in the team room.
Q. They already mentioned it to me.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Talk to them, then. I plead the Fifth. (Laughter.)
The team room for me has always been pretty -- like kind of a sacred space. The stuff that goes on in the team room, I think guys get to really be themselves and they feel really comfortable. I don't like to talk about any of that stuff.
Q. What did you think of Jacob this past week?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Like you see with Jacob, he was grinding really hard to try to get a spot on this team. I played a practice round with him at East Lake, and we were talking about some things. He said, man, I feel like I'm really close to playing some really good golf, and he obviously proved that by going out and winning.
It's definitely a boost for the team for sure. We love seeing our guys have success. He got a great reception when he came in on Sunday night after the win. Yeah, definitely seeing one of our guys have success is great for the team.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think the match play over stroke play is always a little bit overblown. I think in match play, if you play really good golf, you're going to win your match. If not, you're not going to.
Sometimes you can get some good breaks by guys not playing well or sometimes you can get bad breaks by the other just having a really great round. Match play to me is really simple. You just go out there and compete against the course, and whoever's in front of you and try to do your best.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think sometimes when you get into the team events, it's almost more of you and your partner than it is you and your caddie in a sense. Ted is always still heavily involved. All four of us feel like a team, but a lot of times when I normally would be walking next to Ted, I'm probably going to be walking with my partner. I'd say that dynamic is definitely a little bit different.
Q. Going into the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, did you always have that level of confidence going in?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I felt like going into my first Ryder Cup, the guys on the team did a really good job of trying to make me feel comfortable because I think I really was the last guy on that team. I had won on Tour, and I think I was the youngest guy.
They just did a really good job of making me feel comfortable. I got to see what pretty much the most pressure you could feel on the golf course is. When I got home, I could prepare, knowing exactly what that felt like. I felt like that was a huge boost for my career, knowing how to prepare for how your mind and body feels under a lot of pressure.
Q. What do you think the Americans have done so well in this event versus the Ryder Cup?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That's a good question. There's a lot of stuff you can look at. A lot of times you can play armchair quarterback after the thing, and you can come up with a hundred reasons why things could go differently in this thing.
What I try to focus on most going into these tournaments is just controlling the controllables and things I can control. That's going out there and having a good attitude and trying to execute shots. Outside of that, I'm not going to think a ton about anything else really.
Q. Is it more than golf just being golf? Is there something else going on? Is there a lot of combination of it?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Golf is a hard game to figure out. Like this tournament, it's a different format. It's something that we're not -- we don't typically do the rest of the year with best ball and alternate shot.
I think it's something unique to our game and something that's really fun. It's a format that a lot of people can get behind, especially when you see U.S. versus Europe or U.S. versus the International Team.
As a country, we take a lot of pride in this event, and showing up and doing our best is really important for us.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I know exactly what you're saying. I think, even if you just separated singles match play from team match play, I think my singles match play record is pretty darn good, if you actually look at it. If you look at our match play tournament, I think I won it once, lost the finals once, lost in the semifinals once. That's pretty good.
So I think sometimes -- yeah, as a hypercompetitive person, I think sometimes I can probably try too hard. If you look at my putting stats over the course of my career, arguably what made me struggle the most in 2023 was probably trying too hard.
I think when you look at this format, and like you said, maybe my record hasn't matched up to what I think that it should be, could it be trying too hard? I think that's definitely a factor for sure. For me it's different in the sense that you also have a partner with you and you're playing for somebody outside yourself, and that's a lot different as well.
Kind of striking the balance between how much do you care, I think that's something I'm always trying to figure out. Definitely for me, I think just trying less would be really important. It's just one of those things that's a lot easier said than done.
Q. (No microphone)?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Throughout the year the team events are always in the back of your mind. Like the captains are always working on something. They're always thinking about pairings and asking us questions. I think that's something that we're always talking about.
It's not something that's on the forefront of our minds, but the captains, like the work that goes on behind the scenes for these events is pretty extenuous, and it's something that a lot of people don't see.
I think that's something that's probably been frustrating for us as American players, is some of the narrative that's have gone on over the course of my team match play career, is stuff like Patrick Cantlay not wearing his hat or stupid rumors that simply aren't true, like meeting in a different team room and the Americans aren't a close team. It's something for us that can be very frustrating at times because it's very much untrue.
Like when I think about that kind of stuff, like I've always been at my best when I'm kind of out of the fray. So putting my head down, getting to work and just going out there and trying to grind is what's most important. I feel like a successful week for me this week may not necessarily be 5-0. If I can show up and do my best and execute, that for me is what I'll define as successful.
I was talking with Gary one day a few weeks ago, he's one of our assistant captains, and he's like, you know, all one player can do is get 5 points, and we need 15 points to win. We've got to figure out how to get 10 other points. That can be a variety of other things within the team room. Being a good teammate and being a good friend to the guys in the room is also really important.
I feel like our team has really banded together over the last five or six years since I've been a part of this. I'm excited to get this week started. The guys have been great this week, and I think our team as a whole is just really excited.
Q. At 21, 22, what was the process of you kind of feeling like you were part of the group, the gang, like you were feeling comfortable with them?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't know. I feel like I've always just kind of been one of the guys, to be honest with you. Like I didn't really feel like much introduction needed. I knew some of the guys pretty well when I stepped on the first team.
When I look at maybe some of the assistant captains I was meeting for the first time, but they did such a really good job of making me feel comfortable. To be honest with you, I didn't really think about it because from the moment I stepped on the team, they made me feel like I was one of the guys. I don't feel like my role on the team has changed over the years. Everybody is just one of the guys, and we're trying to do our best.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports