THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome world No. 1 and FedExCup leader, Scottie Scheffler, to the interview room here at the 2024 The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.
Scottie, welcome. Making your fourth start here. Want to start off with some opening comments on what it is like to be back with the week off.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, it's good to be back. I got some good rest at home last week. We had pretty bad weather in Dallas, so it wasn't too great for golf, so I'm feeling pretty rested. Came out hit some putts yesterday afternoon and greens are in great shape and I'll go out and play a few today and see how the course is playing.
THE MODERATOR: Where we saw you last year coming off a runner-up from Texas, how is your game feeling and what were you doing with the week off?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, feeling good. With a week off, definitely got a lot of rest. I tried to go out and play a few times, but it was just raining so much that the courses were -- we were getting pulled off for lightning and they were obviously really wet. So I didn't really get a ton done last week, but I was able to get out and practice and play on the weekend. But yeah, feeling rested, got some good time at home hanging out with Meredith and Bennett and, yeah, it was a fun week.
THE MODERATOR: How is your sleep schedule with the newborn?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: (Laughing). Every night's different. I think he's been doing pretty good. Meredith's been pretty nice at night. I can't really do too much outside of changing a diaper and burping him occasionally. But outside of that, I can't really do too much at night. But, yeah, it's been fun. But getting a little bit of sleep, not too much.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions.
Q. When did you find out that the charges would be dropped and was it a relief or had you already kind of moved pass it?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I thought you were going to ask me about golf.
Q. No, you didn't. (Laughing).
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: When did I find out the charges were going to be dropped? I had a good idea at the end of the week at Colonial that they were going to be dropped. Obviously, we had a lot of evidence on our side. We needed to let the legal process play out at that point. Towards the end of the week at Colonial, I think my lawyer used the term, like, it went from, like, a 1-foot putt to it's on the lip, kind of thing, and then nothing is obviously official until it becomes really official, but I think Friday afternoon it was pretty official in our mind. They just needed to meet with the judge to go over details and stuff like that. But yeah, I would say I received the news towards the end of the week.
Q. Was it a relief or had you kind of already moved pass it?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, no, I definitely hadn't moved past it. I would say that I still, you know, wouldn't have a hundred percent moved past it because, yeah, the charges are dropped, but I still -- now it's almost more appropriate for people to ask me about it and ask me about the situation and, to be honest with you, it's not something that I love reliving, just because it was fairly traumatic for me being arrested going into the golf course.
And so it's not something that I love talking about and it's something that I'm hoping to move past, but when the charges are dropped, that's kind of only the beginning of kind of getting past it, if that makes sense. So kind of operating through that now. It was definitely a bit of a relief, but not total relief because that's something that will always, I think, kind of stick with me. That mug shot, I'm sure is not going anywhere anytime soon. (Smiling).
Q. Was there consideration from you and the legal team to seek your own case against the Louisville Police Department, a lawsuit or what have you?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: For me personally, no. That was something that if we needed to use it, I think Steve was more than ready to use that, just because, like I said, there was a ton of evidence in our favor. There was eyewitnesses on the scene that corroborated my story and the video evidence, the police officer talking to me after. All the evidence pointed to exactly what my side of the story was, and so if we needed to, if it -- if I kind of became, like -- I don't really know how to describe it, but basically, if I had to show up in court, I think Steve was more than prepared to pursue legal action.
But at the end of the day, I did not want to have to pursue legal action against Louisville because at the end of the day, the people of Louisville are then going to have to pay for the mistakes of their police department, and that just doesn't seem right. So at no point did I ever want to sue them, but if it came there, I think my lawyer was more than prepared to use that as more of like a bargaining chip-type thing more than anything.
Q. Let's go to golf for just a second as a segue. It seemed like there may have been almost a hangover at Colonial from all this. Are you past it from a golf standpoint now where you feel like I can just play golf, I just feel fairly normal now?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, I'm hoping to get there, but like I said, it's almost now more appropriate for people to ask me about it and make jokes about it and stuff like that. So in that sense, off the golf course, not quite, but on the golf course, I showed up at Colonial ready to play. I didn't just show up to go whack the ball around. I played and I wanted to compete and I wanted to win the tournament and that's why I'm here this week.
So when it comes to on the golf course stuff, I'm always prepared to go out and play. I was prepared to go play in Louisville, even after I got arrested. I went out on Friday and had a good round golf. Saturday wasn't my best stuff, but came back again on Sunday. And so on the course, I'm always ready to play. No matter what the circumstances are off the course, if I'm showing up at a tournament, it's not some sort of ceremonial deal. I'm here to play.
Q. Just curious, the support you received through all this and the reaction from other players, you say guys are starting to kid about it now, did they feel like they couldn't before and now you're getting it pretty good or just the general reaction? I assume you received some criticism or saw some, but was the majority of it favorable, in your opinion?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: The support I got from everybody that knows me was extremely in my favor. I didn't receive any sort of negative comments from anybody that knows me personally. The support I got from the fans was tremendous last week. The support I got from the players was also tremendous. Yeah, my friends will joke about it, but that's because they're my friends. Friends are supposed to joke about that kind of stuff. But those are the same guys that will also give me a hug and ask me if I'm all right.
So if all they did was make fun of me, it would be a different story, but my friends are my friends and they love me and I love them back, and so I'm more than happy to take a ribbing from people that love me. But as far as any sort of negative comments from anybody that knows me personally, yeah, that definitely was not the case.
Q. Fatherhood. Kids can change things. There's been many stories through the years. Have you contacted talked to guys about how to handle this, how to navigate parenting and playing, that challenge?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, right now, I'm still trying to learn how to burp him and change his diaper and stuff like that, so as far as the true parenting, I'm trying to just be the best support I can at home, but, yeah, I have great resources out here and at home that we can go to for advice, and I try to seek their advice as much as possible, especially when it comes to something that I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing (laughing).
Q. How bad did Grayson beat you?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think they beat us 1-up. Yeah, they beat us 1-up, him and Chesson beat us 1-up, beat me and Sam. We had a putt on 18 to tie and Grayson, I think his fiancée said he was running towards -- running out the door to come play a practice round, and he was skipping off the 18th green, is how I would describe it.
Q. I want to ask you about next week. A, does it feel like, just given the schedule and kind of the magnitude of this tournament, that this major, this U.S. Open, has crept up on us pretty quick?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, a little bit, yeah. I think the conversation typically the week before a major is, like, if we're playing -- what was the week before? I feel like every year when we're leading up to the Masters, like, the month before that is all we're talking about, is the Masters, and sometimes I think the rest of the majors can kind of definitely sneak up on y'all in a sense.
But I think as players, I'm always preparing for the next week and I'm trying to manage my practice to where I'm trying to get a little bit better each day, and I think the majors are always kind of earmarked in my head on the calendar. They're always -- I try to block 'em out, but the majors are always in the back of my head. Whether we're playing, practicing, whatever we're doing, I think our brains always kind of know exactly where they are.
Q. What's your experience at Pinehurst?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I watched a flyover video yesterday.
Q. How did it go?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's beautiful. (Laughing).
Q. Just lastly, and I'll hang up and listen here, but just given your skill chipping, when you've encountered greens like that that they have at Pinehurst No. 2, what is your philosophy on when to putt and when to chip?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's all just how it looks. Sometimes it depends on the lie. Typically when you get to a major, most of the lies are pretty good. The golf courses are typically in great shape. Most of it will depend on how grainy it is. So, really the first thing I always look at is the lie and then kind of go from there.
Q. On perspective, do you see things differently now and maybe when you read someone's accused of something, you'll take a different look at it than you might have before?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: You know, I try to believe in people are innocent until proven guilty. So when somebody's accused of something, I can't really remember some -- I never really try to -- I never really see someone -- or I try not to see people for kind of their bad sides. Just because somebody's accused of something doesn't mean that they actually did it or maybe they did do it and maybe they just made a mistake. I think forgiveness is something that's loss in our society and just because somebody made a mistake at one point in their life doesn't mean that they're a bad person.
I think sometimes in society people are expecting perfection out of everybody and just because somebody will make one mistake people will crucify them for that, and I've never really believed in that. I believe in forgiveness, I believe in grace, and I try to give that out as much as possible because of how much grace I've been given.
Q. Perspective as a world No. 1 going into these majors now, every year you're going to come in or every tournament you're going to come in and we're going to ask you questions because you're world No. 1. How does your perspective change from maybe three, four years ago when you just qualified to get into some of these events?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I still feel like that same guy. I still feel like the guy who was playing in the qualifiers to get in the U.S. Open. I don't feel any different. So as far as going into the tournament, yeah, y'all may ask me different questions, but I'm preparing the exact same way that I did five years ago. So on my end, not much changes. Maybe I'm getting a bit more rest just with all the other stuff that I have to deal with at a tournament versus before, but I think that rest is more helpful in me performing.
Q. Every year the champion gets greeted by Mr. Nicklaus with a handshake. Just curious with everything that's he's done for this game, what would having that moment be like for you if you were to have won it?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, this is a special place for me. I remember when I was in college, I came here and played -- I would play the U.S. Open qualifier over at the other courses here, I can't remember what their name are right now. But yeah, we would always come over and watch the practice round and stay an extra day and watch a little bit. I always dreamed of coming here and playing in this tournament and it's a dream come true just to be here in the field. So I'm excited. It would mean a lot to me to be able to shake his hand and win this golf tournament with all the history here and what Mr. Nicklaus has meant to the game and, like I said, it's just an honor to be in the field this week.
Q. Scottie, you spoke eloquently this morning. When and how did you find out you would be asked to speak and what did that mean to you?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, I think, first off, when we found out Grayson passed away last week, it was obviously a pretty big shock to all of us. It's been a tough 10 days trying to process what transpired. I think your mind always goes to I think we all wish we could have done more for him, wish we could have done things differently. Your mind just kind of goes to what you could have done to prevent this from happening.
But like I said, Grayson, he was a sweet guy, he really was. He was fun to be around, he worked hard on and off the golf course, he got the most out of himself. It was really fun getting to know him the last few months as he was trying to -- you know, marriage was around the corner for him. He had his fiancée and he was trying to get his fiancée involved in life out here, and he was trying to really be the best version of himself and be a great husband. He was looking forward to marriage, he was looking forward to one day becoming a dad. It pains me that he's no longer with us. I tried to do my best to honor him today and, yeah, it's been a tough week and a half.
Q. I hate to follow that up with a golf question. Sorry. At this tournament last year, it was kind of a microcosm of the year for you. You were great everywhere except for or on the greens. Does this week allow you to look back and have some perspective on how far you've come on the greens or are you just keeping your head down and continue to work at that?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, to be honest with you, I did not really think about that much. We've had a good amount of stuff going on off the course. That's something I also talked about this morning. I think all of us carry a lot more stuff off the golf course with us than we let on. Competing out here inside the ropes is a great joy for all of us, but life outside the ropes can be challenging, and I think sometimes whether you have stuff personally going on or whatever it is -- last year at this time we had some stuff going on that I'm not going to get into.
But yeah, reflecting on where my putting was at this time last year, I had two really bad weeks in a row between here and Colonial where I hit the ball tremendously, and so it's really just -- without the drastic difference between my ball striking and putting, it would have just been a bad week. I would have lost a few strokes on the greens the first two days and I would have just missed the cut and gone home and it would be like, Oh, Scottie had a tough week, but since I almost won the tournament, it became such a huge story about how poorly I putted.
But for me it was more about just sticking to my process and continuing to learn and grow. I wouldn't trade those weeks that I had back or the year I had last year just because I felt like I learned a lot about myself and what makes me tick and I think it made me a better player today. A lot of the challenges in this game, I think, can only toughen me up and I feel like at this point in my career I'm in a great head space mentally, I'm excited about where my game's at, and I'm ready to go out and compete this week and for the rest of the season.
Q. Had you even ever had a parking ticket or a speeding ticket in your life?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I have had a couple speeding tickets. My dad used to make fun of me because I had -- my dad's really good with words, and so if he's -- I've watched him get pulled over a couple times and not get a ticket. I've been pulled over a couple times and I'm batting a hundred percent on getting tickets (laughing).
So, yeah, I've had a few speeding tickets, a parking ticket, maybe. I can't remember the last time I was in fight or anything like that. You know, I think that's part of also kind of the recovery process from the whole scenario, is your brain tries to figure out how this happened, and I will probably never figure out why or how this happened, but it's just one of those deals that it will always be kind of ingrained in my season this year, but with time, people will forget.
Q. You've gained ground seven straight events putting. How gratifying has it been to see that work with Phil pay off?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I try not to focus too much on the results, especially with putting. A lot of it has to do with kind of our approach to things, but with that being said, seven weeks in a row, I didn't know that, but that's a great stat. It's nice to see kind of the fruits of labor, the work that I've put in, it's nice to see some results from that and I've seen a few ones from that as well, so it's nice to sit back and reflect and the results help confirm that we're doing the right things. And then, at the end of the day, just continue to put my head down and put in the work that we've been putting in and treat it the way I've treated all aspects of my game through time, just trying to get a little bit better at a time and not make those huge changes. I feel like what I'm trying to do now with my putting, I'm trying to get more into my athleticism, more trying to get into feel and seeing versus being very technical. I obviously work on the technical side of my game and putting, but on the course just trying to get be athletic, be competitive and go do what I'm naturally good at, and that's going out there and competing.
Q. When you talk about how much you learned and how you wouldn't trade it, how much of that is athleticism, how you work, technical, and how much of it was learning to block out noise and criticism, and did you ever have any noise, as it relates to golf anyway, up until last year?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Up until last year, probably not really. I battled my swing when I was in college when I was battling kind of my body. But as far as what I would learn from a technical perspective, not much. I mean, the technical stuff, like I said, I'm trying to get rid of as much of that as I can when I go out there and compete. So I think mentally is where I learned the most, and that's when I talk about kind of toughened me up a little bit, yeah, there was -- I tried to do my best to look block out the noise, but it was tough coming in here every week and having to answer questions about my putting. It's like, listen guys, I'm doing the best I can, I promise (laughing). When you're not seeing the results it can be tough. So I think I learned a lot about how I need to manage myself week-to-week, manage expectations and results. Yeah, I felt like I learned a lot about myself and what I could do to compete better.
Q. Do you ever read much about yourself?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I try not to.
Q. Can you tell what people are writing by the questions you get asked?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Pretty much. I figured -- yeah. (Laughing.)
THE MODERATOR: That is all the questions we have. Scottie, thank you for the time.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports