MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2021

Xander Schauffele

Quick Quotes

Q. How did it go out there today?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It was good. I feel like I played really well. I mean, I feel like I've hit a few iron shots that I normally don't hit. I was able to fade a few shots, which was nice. Been trying to work on that with my dad, and it's always nice to put it into tournament play and pull it off.

Q. Is that something you were trying to do, work on the fade? With the irons?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I'm just not really good at it, in all honesty. I see right to left much easier, and I play with enough guys that hit sort of high cuts and they sit nice and soft near the pin, and I want to do that one day. We've been working at it slowly, and I felt comfortable enough today to try it on the course.

Q. How much is this course evolving over the tournament?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, without the weather, I feel like everyone -- the working staff here is very happy. I think they can kind of control the conditions without rain coming in. You know, it was really firm, and then this overcast sort of -- you can feel how humid it is. It kind of kept the greens a little sticky, I'd say, but hey, a night of SubAir and some wind can ease that up pretty easily.

Q. How comfortable do you feel on this golf course?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, you know, it's one of those places, you get excited to get on the property and you put in all the work and then you go tee off, it's just like any other tournament. But I've had a good finish here, which helps me feel more comfortable, and if I can draw back on any shots that I've hit in the past, then I will.

Q. What's the biggest lesson you've learned about this golf course and specifically how to play well?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: That par is okay sometimes. I think, man, you can really get aggressive at certain pins. Even if you're feeling kind of good and you're 4- or 5-under in your round, you get too aggressive and you pick up a bogey in two seconds. You're sitting there, and you're like, man, that was really stupid. Most of the time it's out of the middle of the fairway. I feel like you really have to pick your spots and control your golf ball really well.

Q. What is it about major championships and tough golf courses that bring out the best in your game?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I don't know. I try to be well rounded, and major championships require all parts of your game to kind of click and run for the week. So probably credit it to that. But it's just more fun. Not that normal tournaments aren't fun, but there's no pressure, you can tell everyone is more serious and everyone just wants to win more than the next guy.

Q. What's your earliest memory of this tournament?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It would have to be either Jack in yellow or Tiger in red. There's always highlights side by side. I think they run parallel reruns of those tournaments where either of them have won. That's sort of what I think about when I think of Augusta.

Q. You and Austin work very well together on normal weeks, but how important is you guys' relationship, talking through shots here at Augusta?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's big. This is a caddie's nightmare. The wind is crazy here. You know, 15, for example, we sat there, waited for the group ahead of us, Jon hit an iron that came right over us, wind stood it up. Rory hit a wedge that kind of stood it up. Wind switched when I hit and it kind of went flat and I flew it over the green. For a caddie it's very difficult, and for players it's even harder to try to commit to shots. But having a close relationship with him definitely helps me sort of trust whether or not we're right, I guess.

Q. What's the most important thing you have to do tomorrow?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I think I'll sort of watch some coverage, see how the course is playing, see what was done overnight to the property and kind of see the scores coming in. I was fortunate enough to par that last hole, which kind of saved me some sleep and some time to watch on TV.

I'll look at it in the morning and then kind of adjust.