MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 11, 2025

Xander Schauffele

Quick Quotes

Q. It's not easy out there, is it?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: No, I think the greens were a lot more receptive today. Yesterday was firm. Some of those new greens were firm, and like the difference at 15 today was crazy. I hit a sand wedge that bounced like nine yards, and today I almost spun it back in the water. That kind of just showed if you're hitting your number -- obviously it's difficult with the wind, but if you're hitting your number, you're going to get rewarded with a good shot.

Q. 15 seems to have caused a lot of problems the last two days, the firmness there --

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It was a lot softer today. Just the rain. It was significantly softer.

Q. Is there a fine margin there right now?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Today, no. Javi put himself in a really nice spot and flicked a wedge up there and kind of played how you'd expect it to play. Yesterday was too firm probably.

Q. You feel pretty fortunate to get in? Looks like the wind is going to pick up here --

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Hopefully, yeah. Hopefully. 3-under is a good score. Bogey-free -- I made six bogeys yesterday, so it was definitely a goal of mine to play a little bit more of how I play. Yeah, the course is playing really hard. It's not a -- I think from the first time I played it, it used to feel like you could make more birdies, be and now sometimes you're happy with a par on a par-5.

Q. How did you feel coming off the course yesterday? I know you were pretty optimistic with how you were playing.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I hit the driver better. It's not a driving course. I hit my irons better today. I had a lot of actually decent looks at birdie, even with the wind.

Overall it would be nice to make a few more putts, but yeah, it's just -- shooting 1-over trying to win a tournament -- I didn't shoot myself out of it, but I'm going to have to move on moving day.

Q. How do you approach that? Everyone talks about you can put a number up but it's going to require taking on some risk.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: A little bit. I don't know what the weather is going to be like. If some rain comes in, then it'll be more gettable when I'm going with the minus 2s versus later in the day.

Part of the whole idea of moving day is you can move if you're in a decent spot. If you're leading the tournament by three shots, it's going to be hard to move, teeing off last with all the spike marks and everything else that has to go with teeing off last. I'm in kind of that spot.

Q. Not many pars, a lot of birdies and bogeys the first two days, and then struggled with the putter this week. Why is that?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I'm not maybe -- it's hard to make putts here. I don't really know what to tell you. I think if you can hit it on the correct side of the hole, you can leave yourself with a little less break. I mean, you can be six feet and have a downhill-ish putt and your range of break will be anywhere from a cup really firm to three feet if you're trying to drip it in. It's just how Augusta is. That's why this place is great.

Q. In the majors, it looks like your progression from the first day to the top is what works for you to get up there. Do you think this week can be like that?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Of course. I want to believe it can be like that, yeah. That's my hope. I'd have to shoot something in the 60s today. I stuck in there. Yeah, it's only Friday, so there is a ton of golf left. Rosey did some incredible things, and to back it up with a 1-under is pretty darned good, too. Technically it's out there.

Q. Are you feeling healthy?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, thanks.

Q. Does that feel nice?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, it feels good. It feels good to not think about anything. I just think about where the ball should be and things of that nature. That's a nice thing.

Q. Are you back to pre-injury Xander?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: You know, I think I can hit the shots. Confidence is a tender thing. I'm going to have to build that up. It's not going to just -- as much as I'd like to wake up and feel like last year, that's just not how it goes. I'm starting to hit some really nice shots, and that helps the confidence.

Q. (Indiscernible)?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I mean, I'm probably, what, three or four events behind him. I mean, like I said, I'm trying to convince myself of that. This property tests you in every way, whether it's having to take 30 yards off a normal iron shot or curve it against the wind that you wouldn't normally have to. You need to sort of have a lot in your bag to get around this property.

Q. How do you know when you're feeling confident?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Just wake up and just look different in the mirror. I mean, I think it's sort of like a panic meter. That's kind of how it goes for me, at least. I mean, typically I seem calm, but if I'm not as confident, the panic meter will kind of spike at times and I'll get in my head a little bit. If I'm confident I can hit one out of bounds then I'll be fine because I know exactly what I did and I know how to fix it.

Q. Do you think we or golf fans underestimate how significant a month or two layoff actually is for a professional golfer?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I mean, it's a touchy thing. Yeah, golf is individual. We don't have any teammates to sort of bounce off of or get some momentum off of, and it's a big feel game. Most sports are feel related. It's tricky. Yeah, it's tricky.