THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2026

Scottie Scheffler

TPC Sawgrass

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome the 2024 and 2025 winner of the PLAYERS Championship, Scottie Scheffler to the interview room. Scottie, welcome back. We're going to go ahead and bring it straight into questions, so as always, raise your hand and we'll get a microphone over to you.

Q. The greens look like they're firming up a little bit, at least more so than years past. Have you been out there on the course, and what have you experienced in trying to deal with the surfaces right now?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, they're definitely a little bit firmer than they have been the last couple years. I think when you get to Florida this time of year, maybe there's just rain in Florida, so I think it can be hard to get greens super firm and fast, especially when they're overseeded. But overall I think they're playing really nice right now, and we'll see what the forecast is as the week goes forward, but definitely firm to start the week.

Q. Have you settled on what driver you're going to play this week, and is it an uncomfortable time of year to be working on something like that?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, is it an uncomfortable time of year to be working on it? I mean, not really. I think you're always kind of looking for ways that you can get better. So I'm always looking for ways that I can improve my game.

So I think when you look at the driver, I think there's always a little things you can do to improve, but you got to toe the line, I think, between improving and sticking with the stuff that also works really well. So there's always that kind of fine line in golf. Like you see guys trying to get a bunch of speed and then it's like, okay, we gained a bunch of speed but now the irons are getting a little bit worse; I'm having trouble with my distance control. There's always a little bit of give and take.

So when you look at new technology, I think there's stuff that's really good about it. Like with the new driver I've seen my spin numbers come down, or sorry, become more consistent, which is really nice. It's a little bit faster too. So it's like, okay, if my spins can stay a little closer together and the ball can go a little bit further, in theory it should be more accurate. But I'm a guy that shapes the ball and does a lot of different things, and so sometimes those little differences can be a bit of an adjustment for me and so a lot of that I'm still kind of working through, if that makes sense.

Q. So will you still try the new driver again this week or are you going to go back?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That was a really long-winded way of saying no comment. I don't know if you could pick up on that. (Laughing).

Q. What do you like about this test?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Like, the media or the golf course?

Q. Both. Start with the media.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: (Laughing). No, I think when you look at this golf course, I think you see a variety of winners, and you also don't see one style of player winning this tournament a bunch of times. When you look at the golf course I think it's so unique in a sense of, the way modern golf is kind of trending, I think this place you kind of take some steps back where the areas to hit into are small. And there's certain holes where you can definitely take advantage of your length if you're a longer hitter. But there's also some holes where you got to get the ball in play, and you have to be able to curve the ball both directions.

So you look at No. 1 is a fade off the tee, the second shot is a draw.

No. 2, the tee shot's a draw and the second shot suits a fade.

And then you get to 4, fade.

5, fade.

6, draw.

7, draw off the tee.

And it's unique in a sense of there's certain holes, like No. 2, where you have to draw the ball because there's trees in the way. And I think this golf course specifically is unique, because the trend now in golf is to restore it to what it was a hundred years ago when there wasn't any trees. But this golf course, with the trees, forces you to have to do different things with your golf ball. And I think it's something that's rare in today's day and age. I feel like the game is trying to combat distance by making things longer, but it really just leans into guys just trying to hit the ball further and further because we're not forced to curve the ball different directions.

When you look at this golf course, you're forced to hit certain shots. And you get wind, and then when the greens are firm, they're also quite small in some areas, so you have to be able to control your spin and trajectory while hitting it solid enough to make sure you don't get gusted by the wind in order to get into some of these spots.

So I think this golf course, depending upon the year, provides a variety of different challenges that we don't see typically throughout the year.

Q. Does it need as much water as it has?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: There's a lot of water out there (laughing). There's one hole that's surrounded by water, in fact. Yeah.

Q. Curious, I know from speaking to you over the years you like to keep things pretty simple, but I'm curious, when you have such a sustained run of success, how you do manage your expectations and whatnot. Obviously this season probably hasn't gone as well as you would like to get going, but how do you, what's the trick to keep from forcing it, getting frustrated, whatever, when you've had the run of success you had?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I think that's kind of a funny question, because if you flipped my season around and it was like, okay, I finished -- what did I finish last week? Like 24th or something. 24th and 12th, and like 3rd and 4th, and a win. Would your question be the same if I was coming from 3rd, 4th, win?

Q. No, I understand.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, so that's my point is, it's like your expectations of me are living week by week. My expectations of myself is almost more shot by shot. So I think, when you look at the perspective from the media, the media is always trying to create a story. Which can be a great thing. I think that's part of your job. But when it comes to my golf game and my expectations of myself, my expectations all are based around what I want for me mentally on the golf course as being committed to what I can do, and controlling that aspect. And so far throughout this season I've been really good in some spots and then some other spots I feel like I can improve in terms of my commitment to the shot.

And you look at a golf course like last week, where you get the wind blowing different directions, and the greens are quite firm, and the run-ups are quite soft so you're forced to hit the ball up in the air. Sometimes it can be really hard to commit. And at times last week I did a really good job of committing, and then getting kind of a wrong wind direction. And there's a few shots that I would like to have back in terms of my level of commitment to what I was trying to do. And I think that's also part of the challenge of Bay Hill is like -- what's good about the PGA TOUR is we see such a variety of tests. So you look at going from Pebble Beach to playing Bay Hill, Pebble Beach you're trying to take spin-off of every single shot. No matter where you are, there's no need for me to put any additional spin on the ball. We're near the ocean, it's windy, and the greens are basically mush.

Then we come to Bay Hill, and like you look at a hole like No. 2, the run-up area is very soft, the green is extremely firm. So that same shot I'm hitting at Pebble Beach, where I'm controlling a 6-iron because the wind is gusting and I'm going to hit a low, controlled shot without spin. If I hit that shot at Bay Hill, it's going to go way over the green, because it doesn't have spin on it. So now part of the challenge is making sure we get that wind exactly right, and then also hitting it high, with the correct amount of spin, in order to be able to hold that green. But it may not be the exact right shot to hit. Whereas like if, we're at the Open Championship, I'm just going to take off spin and use the slopes. But when you look at soft run-ups and firm greens, I'm able, you're only able to use certain things, and it's just a different challenge than we see the week before. And I think that's what's great about our schedule is you have those different types of tests and not each golf course is the same.

Q. I actually had a question about that idea of looking week-to-week, because I read some stat that at Bay Hill I think you were T44 in strokes gained approach, which by your standards was the lowest since I think 2022 or something. And I had that thought of, after the American Express or after some of the early tournaments, your strokes gained were like, Wow, this guy might win every single tournament he plays. When you're looking at stats like that how long does something have to go on, or what makes a trend for you, where you start to notice something and you say, okay, actually, we should look at this and improve it, versus, this is a pretty small statistical noise?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, my view of stats always typically lines up with my feel. So when I look at the last, sorry the first three rounds of the last tournament, and to some at Riv too, I didn't feel as sharp with my irons. So the stats line up with that. Mine is always based on how I'm feeling.

So if I feel like I can hit really good iron shots, then I'm not going to be too worried about my iron game. If I step over the ball, I don't feel like I can hit a really good shot, that's when I am going to start to worry.

So it might be a day-by-day thing, it might be a month-by-month thing. Definitely at Bay Hill I felt like I could have been sharper with the way I was hitting it. Like, I talk about having to hit the ball high up in the air. Into the wind there is something that's unique. And like, typically when you get swirling winds, the shot I'm going to try and hit is kind of a chippier, lower shot that takes off the spin. But you can't play that at Bay Hill because it won't hold the green.

So it can be a little bit flukey for me in terms of, will the state line up with how I'm feeling. The first three days I definitely felt like my irons could have been sharper. The last day I hit my irons about as good as I've hit 'em all year. I got a wind gust on 18 that caused my ball to hit in the water. And I got -- the one bad iron shot I hit that day, it got stuck in the tree, and I had to go back to the tee box. And I'm like, that cost me like at least four shots. So it's like will I look at the stats for that? No. But the stats for the first three days lined up to where I didn't feel like I was hitting it as sharp as I needed to.

Q. Sounds like the way you're describing it, and correct me if I'm wrong, but that for you the stats follow feel. You could almost read it as the stats don't matter, because you know by feel whether you're playing well or not. Has a stat every told you something that you weren't feeling that was useful? Did you ever see a stat that was like, oh, this is interesting, and it turned out to be something that helped you?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Not really. I think I'm always my own like my biggest critic. I think, like no matter what round of golf you look at, I think there's always something you feel like you could do better. Typically, if I look back at my statistics, which I'm not a huge statistics guy because, like I said, it typically lines up with what I feel. My feel is what I trust the most. So, like there's been certain instances in my career where I may have had a really good round, and I get off the golf course and Randy will go, Great job, that was awesome. And I'll be like, We got to go to the driving range. Like, this isn't going to work another couple days.

So it's hard for me to say on that. But I think the conclusion is I'll trust my feel before anything else.

Q. Sort of related, but you mentioned commitment a lot and how you feel like that's something you feel like you can improve. How do you gauge commitment to a shot, and how do you work on that in any way?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think you work on it through your practice. I think it's pretty easy to sit up there and, like after you hit a bad shot, I think there's always something you can learn. And I guess it's hard, I mean it's silly to say it's just a feel thing, but it really is. I think there's certain shots after you hit 'em, where you're going to make bad swings in golf, that will happen, but I want to be able to tell myself that I'm fully committed to what I was trying to do and maybe there's some little things I could do either in my preshot routine or in my visualization that will help me to become more committed. I think that's something you're always assessing, either after the shot or at the end of each day.

Q. How has your approach changed over the years since you first played the tournament, and how does it maybe fit strengths of your game?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't know if my approach of the tournament has changed very much. But I think it suits my game because you have to play a variety of shots. I think that's something that I've always enjoyed about the game of golf is being able to try to curve the ball different directions and hit different spins.

I grew up on a golf course where, when you hit it off line, it's a parkland style golf course. So I wasn't ever going to really lose many balls, but when you hit it off line you were in a lot of trees, and you had to learn how to shape the ball low, high, around trees, controlling your distance, controlling your spin, running it. And also growing up in Texas, the wind and the conditions are changing on a daily basis, so you see tons of different stuff.

So when I was, what I always loved about golf was always being able to try to do those different things. And this golf course I think kind of brings it out of us. It almost forces you into hitting different types of shots.

Q. Can you hit every shot you want to -- what's that mean?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Final one.

Q. Can you hit every shot you want to, or do you learn something new every year, or was there ever a time where you were learning to hit something new every year?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think there's a difference between being able to do it and then being able to do it in competition. Like you can do anything on the driving range. Like, anybody can hit it when you're doing it for fun. But I think what's different about tournament golf is you have to be able to do it when the tournament's on the line.

So can I hit a chip draw 8-iron 140 with spin on it? Yes. Am I going to try it into tournament? No.

So I feel like I have the ability to play a variety of shots, it just depends on which ones I see during the course of competition. That's the shot I'm going to play. And when I'm swinging my best, I feel like there's a lot of things that I can do with the golf ball, and when I'm swinging at my worst, sometimes it feels like I have no idea what I'm going to do with the golf ball.

Q. Can you think of the last time that you had to try that, last time you tried something in a key moment that you had never tried before?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Never. I mean I have played this game now for 25 years, and I've spent a lot of time practicing and playing. One of the things I loved growing up was doing all kinds of crazy stuff with the golf ball. So I can't think of a shot that I would I've ever hit under the gun that I haven't hit before.

THE MODERATOR: Perfect Scottie, thank you for the time as always.