THE MODERATOR: All right. We would like to welcome the 2024 and 2025 winner of The Memorial Tournament Presented By Workday, Scottie Scheffler, to the interview room.
Scottie, what a magnificent performance. Back-to-back years. What are your thoughts right now after achieving this victory today?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, I feel pretty tired right now. No, it was a great week. It's always special being able to come here and play Mr. Nicklaus's tournament. The golf course was a great test this week. The rough was as healthy as I had seen it. We've had that length of rough before, but not the thickness. It was pretty nasty and it was a good challenge. Definitely fun to be sitting here.
THE MODERATOR: Before we take some questions, Mr. Nicklaus, this guy's a pretty good champion, a couple years in a row, right?
JACK NICKLAUS: I would think so. You know, Scottie's right about the rough. We had a wet spring. You're going to find the same rough at Oakmont. I mean, it's the same grass. It will be the same thing all through the whole Midwest. I think we were lucky to get through the week with some of the weather we had and some of the odd conditions. But what it did is it created a different condition every day. We didn't have two days a like, and your champion is the one who manages all those conditions, and Scottie managed them. Scottie, he didn't play, for him, spectacular golf. He played what he should do. He played good, solid, smart golf and, you know, three 70s and a 68, that's pretty good golf under the conditions that were out there. That's what the best player in the world does. He comes out and does things the right way and manages it, and he sees who is on the leaderboard and who is challenging him.
And I'm sure you watch the leaderboard, don't you?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Um-hum.
JACK NICKLAUS: Yeah. You got to know who is out there, you got to know what they're doing, you got to know what you have to do. And he did. We're so proud to have Scottie not only as a champion last year, but again this year. We're very happy for him too. Obviously, very happy for him.
THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll take some questions.
Q. What do you feel like you did well today?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: What I feel like I did well, only one bogey around this place is pretty good. It's hard to say. I hit a lot of fairways. I definitely wasn't in the rough very much. I think I hit it in the rough off of 10, but outside of that, I don't think I was really in the rough at all. So around this place, that's going to be key. So I would say I drove the ball really nice today. I think that would probably be the thing I did best.
Q. Secondly, this is two times in a row and it's happened before too where you're in a tussle and then, like, without a moment's notice, you're walking up the 18th without a care in the world. How does that happen?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well --
Q. It goes from, like, zero to a four-shot lead?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I had a four-shot lead standing on 15 tee, and then I birdied 15 and parred 16, which is not bad golf, and all of a sudden it was a two-shot lead. So I did what I was supposed to do. I hit a good putt there on 15 that just grazed the edge and hit another really good putt on 16 that came up just short. I knew if I continued to execute the way that I did that I was going to have a good chance to win the tournament.
And I told myself when we were standing there on 17 tee, if Ben eagles 15, birdies 16 and 17 and 18, we deserve to be going into a playoff, and that's kind of the conversation I had with myself. I can't stop him from playing great golf, but all I can do is just go out there and try and execute. I hit the fairway on 17, hit the green, gave myself a good look.
When you're in the rough out here, it's really challenging, and Ben put it in the rough on 17, which makes that hole extremely difficult, and paid the price for an errant tee shot.
Q. It seems like hole number 11 was maybe the crucial moment of the day. You had bogeyed 10, it was a one-shot lead, then you drill a 14-footer when he's in there about 4 feet, and then he misses. Do you feel like that was kind of the -- not the turning point, but a really key moment?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, definitely an important moment in the tournament because after the bogey on 10, making that putt on 11 was definitely really important to kind of keep him at bay. I didn't actually see his putt there, but I knew that it missed, and so then I'm in control of the box on 12, and I went in there and hit a really nice shot, which I think was really important as well, put it in position there. I almost made that putt too.
But I would say definitely the birdie on 11, and Ben making the mistake there on 12 was definitely kind of where I took control of the tournament on the back nine.
Q. Mr. Nicklaus, obviously, you were great player and you've seen some great players in your time as well. Given the body of work that Scottie is putting together, what makes him elite?
JACK NICKLAUS: What makes him?
Q. Elite. A great player.
JACK NICKLAUS: Well, I think that great players are ones who rise to the occasion and ones who know how to play coming down the stretch in important events. Looking at the leaderboard today, he didn't have -- I mean, Ben Griffin's a nice player, Sepp Straka is a nice player, Nick Taylor is a nice player. Those were all the guys that were there basically coming down the stretch.
But he knows that those guys, you know, are not in his league. Now, if he would have had -- I don't know who else it might have been, but if he had somebody else at the top, if Xander or somebody like that would have been there, he might have said, Well, that might be a little tougher. I might have to do something different. He didn't have to.
I always was a -- I just asked Scottie if he watched the leaderboard. He says, Yeah, I do. Well, I did too. I always watched the leaderboard and found out what my competition was and always felt like what level I had to play to fight that competition off. Sometimes you would have to fight it off because you knew they would self-destruct.
So, obviously, you just don't make dumb mistakes, play solid golf, and you win. He is such a good player, and he drove the ball beautifully today. Like he said, he drove the ball, but he never put himself in jeopardy. He didn't put himself in a position to lose the golf tournament. He was always in a position to win. And if he had to do something more spectacular, he was in a position to do so. But he didn't have to.
So you don't take any chances to do that. I mean, the most risky shot that I saw him play, I thought today, was 16. 16, by hitting the ball pin high, he actually gave the opportunity to have the water in play. I thought he would hit it in the front right of the green there.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I was trying to hit it over the water.
JACK NICKLAUS: Well, you know what I'm saying.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I know what you're saying (laughing).
JACK NICKLAUS: That was the only place he could lose the tournament, and he hit it on the far right side of the green, which was all right. Even if he went in the bunker, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But there's places where you play when you've got to finish and finish properly that don't put you in jeopardy. That's what he did. That's what good players do.
Q. Scottie, Jack mentioned the rough is going to be here like it's going to be at Oakmont in two weeks. How do you feel this prepared you for that test and what do you think of playing at Oakmont in two weeks?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, this golf course, like Oakmont, I think this is a place where if there's a weakness in your game, this golf course is going expose it pretty quick. It's a challenging week and this is always a good barometer of where you're at playing because, I mean, each day on the course -- I think the first two days you had guys shoot 65. I think the best round on Saturday was 66 and the best round today was 65. So there's always opportunity to shoot great scores and hit great shots. It's just a matter of stepping up there and hitting the shots.
That's what I think is great about this golf course, is there's opportunity and there's good difficulty. As far as prep work for the U.S. Open, I mean, like you said, the rough's going to be pretty similar and I think it's great prep.
Q. You're talking about watching scoreboards, winning the tee box. Just curious on maybe a level 1 to 10, what is your level of competitive killer instinct?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, I have no idea.
JACK NICKLAUS: Competitive what?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Competitive instinct.
Is that what you said?
Q. Yeah, killer instinct to really --
JACK NICKLAUS: He didn't need any. No, seriously, he doesn't. I mean, he's enough -- I'll answer for you. You're enough of a competitor and you're a good competitor that he'll compete to what he has to do. I mean, he doesn't want to tell you -- he doesn't want to brag about what he does. But he has the ability to bring his level to whatever level it needs to be. That's what good players do. And, you know, he's not a good players. He's a great player. I mean, look at the record that he has had the last few years. It's unbelievable.
Q. Jack talked about it, but when was the last time you felt like you were dictated to on the golf course by someone else?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Like I was?
Q. That someone else was pressing you that you had to do something different.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That I had to do something different? You know, that's a good question.
JACK NICKLAUS: Tough question.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's a tough question. I felt like the only time I had to press was, you know, I was chasing in Houston the final round. I was pretty far back going into the last round, and so going into the back nine, I had to maybe change some lines into some of the pins and play a bit more aggressive than I -- than I had to, for instance, today. It's different playing with the lead than chasing. I think I started that day five or six shots back against Min Woo.
So I would say that's really the last time that I felt like I really needed to press a little bit.
Q. To follow up, if someone said to you, when you get the bit in your mouth, you just go, is that fair -- is that a fair assessment? You just don't look at anything else and you just go forward and don't really pay attention to what those guys are doing except for what's on the leaderboard?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, the thing about leaderboard watching is sometimes I think it's harder to not look at the leaderboard than it is to look at it. The leaderboards are right there on the golf course, and I think it would be more of a challenge for me to try not look at them, and so that would be almost more of a distracting thing.
So it's kind of nice to have an understanding of where guys are at on the leaderboard. It's not going to change the way I play, unless, like I said, I'm five shots back on the back nine, I might change a line or two going into some pins. But overall, I mean, when you're looking at a 72-hole tournament, if I'm thinking properly and hitting the correct shots, I should have a decent chance there on Sunday. And so when it comes to playing a tournament, I try and bring the same level of intensity to Thursday as you do Sunday. So when you're coming out here late on Sunday, nothing really changes for me because I try to bring that intensity to the first tee on Thursday.
Does that answer your question? Okay.
Q. Ben Griffin said you guys obviously played junior golf together. He said you were a really good player then, like a bunch of them were, but he didn't envision you dominating the way that you have. Did you at that age -- or when was it that you kind of realized, yeah, I can dominate the way I have?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I don't really think about that stuff, to be honest with you. I treat each tournament individually, and every tournament's different, and I try to do my best to come out here and compete. That's what I love to do. I love being able to play the PGA TOUR, and I love being able to compete against the best players in the world and play on great golf courses like this one and be able to play in these legacy tournaments, like Mr. Palmer's tournament, Mr. Nicklaus's tournament.
It's really hard to put into words what it's like sitting up here with arguably the greatest player of all time and we're sitting here talking about stuff that I did today on his golf course. It's a pretty weird feeling. It is. I came here when I was in college. My dad and I, we would -- or sorry, I would play in the U.S. Open qualifier, and we would come here sometimes for the tournament. I can't remember if it was usually before or after, but I think we would maybe come in on Friday or Saturday for the Monday tournament and come out and watch the tournament out here.
I always just dreamed of playing these tournaments. I never think about dominating. I don't -- it's a waste of time for me to think about that kind of stuff. I'm just trying to be the best that I can be and work hard and use the gifts that I have for good and that's pretty much it.
JACK NICKLAUS: Let me sort of add to that. If he is thinking about being the best and starts believing he's the best, pretty soon he starts scratching his ears out here like this, and that's death. Once you start to get a big head and you believe you're too good, then you will get beat. As long as you keep trying to play well, climb a mountain, try to feel like he's trying to get better, trying to be smart, be consistent, and playing what he thinks is the best golf he can play at that particular time, that's when you play well, not when you're sitting they're saying, Oh, I'm really this good. I can do that. No, no.
I never thought that one time when I played. I always felt like, hey, you know, I got 144 guys or whatever it might be out there to play. I've got to play well to beat 'em. Once I got myself into position, you know, to win, then you got to be smart about how you finish it. And that's the way he's playing. He reminds me so much of the way I like to play. I don't think I played nearly as well as he played. He's playing better than I played and more consistent. He's just been playing fantastic, and I love watching him play. Whether it's here or on the television or whatever it is, I love to watch. Anytime he's playing, I want to watch.
Q. Comments on that, Scottie? I'm kidding.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Good.
Q. But kind of along those lines, Jack had spoken earlier in the week about how to post a good score, and it was about fairways and greens and hitting 14 or so greens, always being around the hole, you're not going to make 'em all, but make a percentage and do it that way instead of holing three 15-footers and a couple of 20-footers. And it sounded a lot like the way you played, and I wondered if you could relate to some of the way he was thinking.
If I quoted you right, Jack. I think I did.
JACK NICKLAUS: Yeah, I never worried about putting. I felt I would make my percentage. I didn't need to. If I knocked it closer to the holes, I would knock some of 'em in. I didn't worry about if I missed some. You missed some. You missed some today, you missed some yesterday, you missed some all week. But you made a lot too.
He gave himself enough chances that he didn't have to be special with the putter. He just needed to be good and solid with it.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think the way I look at tournaments is, you know, 72 holes is a lot of golf. Early in my career I felt like I didn't bring enough intensity to the first couple rounds. Like I would bring a lot of intensity on Saturday and Sunday, but I was always kind of on the outside looking in when it came to leaderboards, and that's one thing I think that Tiger was really good at was bringing that level of intensity to each and every shot.
JACK NICKLAUS: On Thursday.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Hungry.
JACK NICKLAUS: Started the tournament with it.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah.
JACK NICKLAUS: He was really good at it.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That's something I always tried to emulate. I never got to play with Mr. Nicklaus, but I would assume that's probably a pretty similar thought process that he brought to each round. If you're going to play 72 holes, I mean, how many shots did I hit this week, 278?
JACK NICKLAUS: 278.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: 278. That's a lot of shots. And I mean --
JACK NICKLAUS: And the first 70 better be good ones too, right.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, the first 70 matters as much as the last one.
JACK NICKLAUS: That's right.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: And each tournament week feels like a marathon, especially when you're playing a difficult golf course like this, so it's just more important to stay in the proper head space and try and hit shots and then go from there.
Q. On the putting, and you said over the last couple days, going over your round, It could have been a couple better, but I'm happy with the I way I played, etcetera. When you got over par putts today, those seemed big. I just wondered if you think differently over -- I mean, 1 and 2 today and 6 was a big one, 9 was a big one. Are you thinking differently about those than any other putts and if not, can you make something up?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: (Laughing). Can you make something up?
JACK NICKLAUS: I don't know. What do you want to make up?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: (Laughing). No, I mean, I really don't have a different thought process over different putts. I'm trying to -- if I got a good look from about 10 feet I'm usually trying to give it a good chance to go in. I feel like golf sometimes, it's not a game where -- it's not like other sports where, like if we were playing football or basketball -- compared to basketball, like if I get the ball at the three-point line in basketball I can figure out a way to force my way to get there to the hoop and try and put up a layup. Like I can figure out a way to either back the guy down or go around him, you can use brute force.
In golf you can't do that. You can will yourself to hit and execute the right way, but you can't force the ball to go into the hole. I think a lot of times you got to let these rounds come to you, and I feel like I've improved at that skill over time. Golf's not a game where you can just use that brute force. You have to be patient, you have to, I mean it tests you each and every time you go out and play. I mean, it's really, like you're looking in the mirror each and every time you go out and play golf. It's as challenging mentally as it is physically.
Q. You talked about the importance of staying in the present, which can be hard for a lot of people, but where does that importance for you, the focus on that, come from, and is there anyone or anything throughout your life that has helped you be, get better at staying in the present?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, my college coach, Coach Fields was kind of the first person that introduced that concept to me. When I first got to college I was trying to date this girl whose name was Meredith, and I would come out to the course and if she shot me a text or gave me a phone call I would pick it up. I was still trying to woo her at that point. And I would get a little distracted when it came to practicing. And coach sat me down one day and said, Hey listen, when you're at the golf course you need to be focused on what you're doing at the golf course. When you're in class you need to be paying attention in class. And he's like, When you get to do your social stuff you need to be present where you are.
And it's just, I think it's a better way to try to enjoy life. If I can be present where I am -- like if I'm at home thinking about golf am I going to be fully enjoying the time I get to spend with Meredith and Bennett? Probably not.
And if I'm at the golf course thinking about being at home, I'm probably not going to be focused in my practice, not going to get the most out of it. So I think it's a daily battle to try and focus on the task at hand, and I think it's a bit of a kind of a living life to the fullest type of thing. I think when you're thinking about what you're doing, I think that's when you're living.
Q. Did you do a good job of that this week or were there any moments you kind of thought ahead, I guess, at any point on the course?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: No, I think I did a pretty good job this week.
Q. You mentioned your family. We have seen kind of the celebration you've had with them the last couple years winning here. I guess, when you have these moments that you can share with them, how much more fond do you grow, not just of a tournament but a place to come back? Like what has Dublin and Columbus started to mean to you considering the memories you've been able to make here?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, this is a special tournament for us for a variety of reasons. As Mr. Nicklaus knows better than anybody, having a good family life is extremely important. The golf and winning tournaments, all that is great, but at the end of the day if you're going home and there's nobody to celebrate with, I think that can be a bit challenging. My wife has been my biggest supporter for a number of years, and she does a wonderful job taking care of our little man, and basically running the show at home. I definitely couldn't be out here playing golf if it wasn't for her support. She knows me better than anybody. We've been together now since, I was 17 I think and she was 18, and so it's been 11 years now for us together. It's been a fun journey and looking forward to many more years of us.
Q. When you reflect on the success you've had back-to-back years now, any chance we see you late August back for a football game, Texas-Ohio State, and any prediction for the game? You got to be careful with Mr. Nicklaus sitting there.
JACK NICKLAUS: No, he doesn't have to be careful at all. I think it will be a pretty good football game.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't have to be careful, you're still riding high after the national championship, I mean, come on. Last year we actually got to go to the Cotton Bowl, that was really fun. Obviously the result wasn't what I hoped that it would be, but it was really cool to see that environment and enjoy the game. Gosh, I don't even know what I'm going to do tomorrow let alone in August, but I'll definitely be watching on TV at the very least.
Q. Going off the theme of family here, we talked at media day about what this tournament meant, your first win as a dad with Bennett here, does he seem like he's kind of the good luck charm here for you now, two in a row, what does it mean to get this one again with him by your side?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's really special. This is a fun week for us, we have a lot of good memories here, and this is always -- it's an interesting tournament for us for a variety of reasons, but we have very special memories of the last couple years. First win as a father, and it was my Meredith's first week really travelling with me as a mother, having Bennett around. This year, watching him grow, it will be fun to look at the pictures from last year and then compare 'em to this year. It looks like he's standing up back there in the corner right now, so (laughing).
JACK NICKLAUS: Wait until he starts swinging the club. Or something.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Something. He'll be swinging something.
THE MODERATOR: All right, gentlemen.
JACK NICKLAUS: You never know what they're going to start with.
THE MODERATOR: Congratulations again on your third PGA TOUR win this season Scottie. Mr. Nicklaus, thanks again for being a wonderful host and Workday for being a wonderful sponsor.
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