THE 154TH OPEN

July 16, 2026

Scottie Scheffler

Mixed Zone

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER:

Q. You got off to a good start but seemed to stall. Your ball-striking was excellent and then obviously you had that tough go at 17.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I felt like the few shots I hit offline today, really only a couple -- I didn't get up-and-down on 7 and then missed the fairway on 10, I'm in a pot bunker, and then on 17 was really the only other shot I hit offline and I end up in that spot. That's a pretty good assessment.

I felt like I could have gotten a little bit more out of it, but yeah, if I continue to do what I did today with the ball-striking I'll be in a good spot as the week goes on.

Q. The ball on 17 was buried?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yes.

Q. Was it embedded?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It looked like somebody had potentially stepped on it, but it was underneath the wire and it was just -- I'm hoping somebody stepped on it, but nobody would fess up. Apparently nobody did. It was just one of those things. I was just shocked at how deep the ball was in that grass. It looked like a lot of good spots around there, and then all of a sudden you get to one area where my ball is -- I considered actually taking an unplayable. I didn't think I was going to be able to get the ball out of the grass that it was sitting in, but was able to get it out. Just didn't get it up-and-down. Just one of those deals; sometimes you hit it over there and you get a clean lie and you're able to give yourself a look, and then other times like today, you pay a pretty severe price. But I guess don't hit it offline.

Q. You've had a run of early-season starts you wouldn't consider good starts. Would you consider this a good start even though you think it could have been more?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, anytime you can shoot under par to start a major championship, it's a good spot to be in. I got off to a hot start in the round today and wasn't able to make as many birdies as I would have hoped to down the stretch. I played the par-5s in over par. My only other bogey today was a wedge on 7, so those are a little disappointing.

Like I said, if I continue to strike the ball the way I did today and just keep giving myself looks, that's part of it. Golf is played over 72 holes, and I definitely liked what I saw today.