Q. The shot at 15 comes to mind as one of the huge highlights of the day for you. Can you take us through that.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think I had about 235 pin. It was just a kind of nice hold 3-iron and, yeah, felt like I had a good number and it's nice when I have a number where I want to cut it and the pin's on the right and that was one of those instances. So I was able to hit a really nice shot in there pretty close to the pin and hole the putt.
Q. The wind today's been a factor for everybody. It didn't seem to impair you a whole lot. How did you deal with it?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It was pretty windy out there. I just tried to do my best to execute. Teddy, I think, did a really good job of getting most of the winds right for the day and that's a pretty challenging task, I think, around this golf course, especially when the wind's are up, just because have you so many trees that kind of block it and when it's gusty, it can be really challenging and start blowing from directions where it's not quite supposed to at times. That's another one of the challenges of playing this golf course. But I felt like we did a good job today of executing and putting ourselves in the right spots out there.
Q. It's a big week next week. Does it make you do anything different this week to try and conserve or do you approach this tournament different because of that?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Not really. If anything, maybe my prep work last week would have been a little bit lighter than typically going into a week like this. But outside of that, no. As far as the tournament week goes, I'm here to compete and play my best. I'm not really focused on next week at the moment.
Q. When was the last time you came off the golf course and looked at Teddy and said, I really was off today?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't know.
Q. We're all in agreement. I mean --
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I try to forget those days, and so I'm pretty fortunate right now that I can't really remember. The only one I can really remember was Saturday at the PGA, but that was another caddie, so we'll blame him for that. (Laughing).
Q. Potentially stupid Scottie because I didn't see it, but what did you do on 5 today? You were in the fairway.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I went in the fairway and I had a clean golf ball, which makes the second shot significantly easier.
Q. How did you get a clean golf ball?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't know, just blind luck.
Q. Did you have any --
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: If I could figure out how to not get mud balls I would do it.
Q. Viktor was talking about on some holes whether he would try and hit a knuckler to get it going forward and at least maybe you it could wipe the mud off or something like that.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That's a thought, for sure. I've tried at times to even hit it lower, hoping that it would not go as deep into the ground, and I mean, I was still getting mud balls then, so really, I kind of just try to continue to execute the shots and take the bad breaks as I get 'em. Like, No. 5's a hole where you almost need spin off the tee just because the fairway's so narrow up there and, really, I'm trying to control my distance more than trying to hit it far.
So if I'm going to try and knuckle one, it would be me trying to hit it further, and on that specific hole, I'm kind of trying to keep the ball at a certain distance. So really, I'm just trying to hit the appropriate shot to get the ball in play and hoping that I don't get mud on it.
Q. Is golf easy for you right now?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No. (Laughing). Easy is definitely not the right word. I feel like what I love about this game is how difficult it is. I love coming out here and competing against the best players in the world on the best golf courses, and this is obviously a pretty challenging track. I love kind of the -- I really just love competing out here, and I don't really think about whether or not it's easy or hard, and some days I play good and some days I don't, and outside of that, I'm just out here trying to compete.
Q. How would you describe it, then, uncomplicated or, I mean --
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, sometimes it feels really good and then sometimes it doesn't feel as good. I don't really know how to describe it other than that. I'm going to try not to really think about it much, to be honest with you.
Q. A famous well-known sports psychologist Ken Ravizza used to say, try to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Would you describe it sort of like that?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think that there's definitely something to that. I think being out here in the arena and competing with cameras and fans and people watching you and stuff like that can be a little bit unsettling for people, and so yeah, I think the nerves are kind of a sign that you care, and so when you come out here and I'm nervous standing on the first tee, it's because I'm prepared to play well and that's what I want to do when I show up to the golf course.
So I always remind myself about my preparation when I get on the first tee and then do my best to compete after that.
Q. From someone your age, and there's a lot of great players in your age group, but what's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Payne Stewart?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: The first thing that comes to mind is either his putt there at Pinehurst, and then the Payne Stewart Award is something I always try to go to at East Lake, and so his legacy and seeing his family there each year is always really special. He did a lot for the communities that we play in across the country, and he was really an inspirational guy that I look up to as a player just because of the impact he was able to have off the golf course as well.
Q. You don't remember the putt, I take it?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No, I said that. What do you mean?
Q. You remember watching it.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I remember watching it on YouTube and some commercials, but, yes, no I do not remember where I was at the moment.
Q. 10 years old?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah (laughing).
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports