PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 16, 2026

Xander Schauffele

Aronimink Golf Club

Flash Quotes

THE MODERATOR: Xander Schauffele is with us now at the 108th PGA Championship. Xander, 66 today. What can you tell us about your third round?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I thought I played really good golf today. A lot better than yesterday for sure. So nice to move on moving day.

Q. How different was the challenge today in terms of the conditions and the golf course and maybe the pin positions?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I thought the pin locations the first two days were pretty diabolical. Last night I actually thought I wasn't playing very hard at all. I was just playing really bad golf. Happy to sort of make a birdie there and kind of limp in in that fashion. So it was nice to hit more quality crisp shots today and make some birdies.

Q. How aware are you, I guess, especially on like a Saturday, of the leaderboard, especially it's just so jam packed, we almost never see it quite like this.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I was pretty aware today and tomorrow, I called an absolute free-for-all, you know what I mean? Just the way the course plays, I mean, someone early goes and shoots something 6-7-under, they might just have a chance to win the whole thing, depending on how windy it gets out there.

So with that in mind, try to really stay in my lane with Austin and control what we can control.

Q. Xander, there's been good scoring today, but how much better did you play just handling what was there?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Played way better, yeah. Hit better tee shots, hit better iron shots. The putter kind of kept me in it yesterday and the first day, so really leaned on the flat stick to keep me alive, I'd say.

It was just sort of nice to attach some better shots so I could have some more looks at birdie versus par.

Q. Pre-tournament, you said that you sort of felt better about where your game was compared to at Quail, and I'm wondering if this was more of what you were expecting of yourself.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I mean, I always expect a lot. I actually didn't even feel that bad at Quail, just really didn't play well, and things got in kind of a weird spot. So nice to have a little late session with Chris there last night at about 8:00 p.m. and was able to sort of, you know, try to get things going in a better direction. Got in some bad tendencies there mid-week.

Q. What does it feel like to be back in contention for a major after you haven't been for a while? What is that energy like on a Saturday night?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, I mean, on Saturday you're just chasing. It was awesome playing Rickie. He plays really fast and very positive. Just gotten to know him a little bit better in Jupiter, so incredible pairing there on a Saturday.

He played great, too, didn't make a bogey. So it was nice playing with a guy who made two birdies and all pars is usually a nice thing to watch. So all good here on a Saturday. Yeah, definitely, nice to be back in touch in a major.

Q. I think you said you had some bad tendencies yesterday. Can you just tell us a little bit more about what that was? Did you know that and you just needed to get to the range to fix it? Did you know that as it was happening?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: I mean, no. No, I did not know. I'm not trying to do certain things. Feel versus real is a tough thing for us golfers. My tendencies are to get really shut and get really underneath and start to tip back and slash at it, and, man, is it hard to play good golf and hit your number when you need to, you know.

Overall, I thought I gave myself a bit better chance moving the club a little bit better today versus yesterday or even the first day.

Q. Just kind of following up on Kevin's question a little bit, like, from pre-'24 to post-'24, do you feel like different entering a Saturday, entering a Sunday when you are in contention versus when you still had that kind of monkey on the back?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, sure, I think so. I mean, it would be crazy to not, you know what I mean? Having won two. But at the same time, I have some experience to draw on. That's really what it is.

To what he's saying, if you're not in contention, you know, good luck drawing on any experience. You're just trying to stay positive and give yourself a chance. So the real goal is to always give yourself a chance here. It's a jam-packed leaderboard. Come tomorrow, there's going to be 25, 30 guys within striking distance with 9 to 10 holes to play.

It's going to be great to watch as a fan, but as a player, it's pretty stressful, and you've really got to lock in. So if I can lean back on any experience I have, I will.

Q. A little more to the point, in the years before you finally did it, did you pick up on tendencies that you had on the weekend when you were in contention, whether it was thoughts that entered your mind, whether it was, you know, anything like that that you kind of wanted to eliminate or change?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah. I mean, I think if you can control your ball and hit certain shots, it will definitely give you that confidence, but no matter how great of golf you're playing, you'll see anyone slip up at certain moments. The best always seem to collect themselves in the toughest moments.

When you're watching TV or any sport, you can kind of tell like, okay, like they've settled the ship. And early on, I felt like there were times where 9 or 12 holes would pass, and I'm like holy smokes, I'm like 5-over par, like the whole what is happening thing.

So, yeah, I'd call those growing pains. Everyone goes through them. Everyone deals with it at multiple times in your career, at any moment in your career, and the more veteran guys are supposed to be the ones that can kind of correct it as soon as possible.

Q. What's been the better test, in your opinion? What we had the first two days with some really scary tucked pins or more generous successful scoring chances today, and what would you like to see tomorrow?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: That's a fair question, Doug. Yeah, rarely do you present them. I'm just kidding, Doug.

Yeah, you know, it's tricky. I think tricky or quirky could be the correct word. I mean, man, some of those pin locations are pretty gnarly. I really hope they don't put them there for the members on any day, because, whew, that's -- it's a grind.

I think discipline was the biggest thing I could think of the first two days. I mean, you have a wedge in your hand, and you're like I've got to hit this to 50 feet or 40 feet, or I can make a 6 or the quickest 5 ever.

It's very tricky, and I think that's why you're seeing the leaderboard so dense and so compact and everyone within striking distance, but, hey, I'm just here to compete, and I'm enjoying the challenge. Like you said, the first two days presented something different. Today was a little bit easier with the pins. Tomorrow could be whatever they decide it to be.

So I'm just here to compete and enjoying it so far.