THE 153RD OPEN

July 17, 2025

Xander Schauffele

Mixed Zone

Q. Talk about your round today.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It was all right. I wouldn't call it a -- it wasn't a very exciting round. I wasn't hitting it extremely close. I think a lot of my birdies were two-putts. Managed the wind and rain okay. I thought I could have done a little bit better, but looks like I'm four back, which is a decent spot.

Q. The conditions, it looked like you guys seemed to battle all different kinds of things throughout the day.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Started off nice when we were warming up. Wind picked up a little, then rain came and stayed for a little, and it's pretty nice now. Again, just a summer day in Northern Ireland.

Q. Anything in particular with this wind direction, any tee shots or shots in particular that stayed in your mind that were particularly challenging?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, a lot of them. 11 comes to mind, into the wind and rain, into left-to-right off that hole is a tricky one. You're trying to do your best to hit that fairway. If you miss it, you're hanging on for dear life.

Q. Xander, I know you said you don't keep the trophies around, don't think about it and all that stuff, but is it different coming to one you've won? Does it give you any confidence, any sense of calm, any sort of feeling?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Today felt the same. It's Thursday of a major. It's a positioning battle. If you're getting good clubs and this and that, you can kind of go out there and shoot a nice number, but it's really just trying to position yourself come the weekend. Maybe then it will be an advantage. As of right now, the same nerves, the same kind of everything for a normal major.

Q. Did you think about last year at any point since you woke up today?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: No, not once.

Q. You're not a sentimental person, are you?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I don't know about that. I just think, if I'm trying to play at a high level, if you ask anyone that's going for anything, I don't think you really think about what you did before. You're just trying to move forward.

Q. Did you get a nice reception, though, because of your victory last year?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I think just a little bit more recognition around here. The fans are awesome. People yelling your name a few more times, but other than that, I felt like even before I won any majors, they were always pretty kind to me.

Q. Did you notice that you have CG? Maybe you didn't, but on the draw sheet you have CG in the place where everybody else has the colour of their caddie's bib. CG is champion golfer of course.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Maybe my caddie saw that. I did not. Like I said, those are all really nice touches. Yeah, it's an honour to be the champ, but you've got to earn it back.

Q. Are any of the conditions similar or last year it was a bit colder. It was kind of a trying week last year as far as conditions went.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It was a little bit windier, a little bit more rain last year. It kind of just depends on what part of the course you're on. I remember last year when I was playing in some wind and rain, some of those holes were kind of right-to-left and helping on that front nine. You can kind of play some rainy downwind holes.

Today I felt like a lot of the holes were sort of into left-to-right, wind and rain, and you're trying everything you can to keep that golf ball and your club face dry so it doesn't square off playing it.

Q. It seemed kind of random today, changed four or five or six times.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Sure.

Q. I guess you get used to it, right? You just deal with it?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I would say more the latter. You just deal with it. I don't know if I'm used to it. You just deal with it. Usually when it rains in parts of the U.S., you get called off the course.

Q. Are you happy with your swing?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I think it's pretty good. I hit some good shots. I felt like -- nitpicking myself, misread a few 6- to 8-foot putts, the two that I missed today. Those were bothering me the most.

Other than that, I feel like my swings didn't put me in any weird spots where I couldn't play from.