THE 154TH OPEN

July 18, 2026

Scottie Scheffler

Mixed Zone

Q. Was that Luka out there?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yes.

Q. What's y'all's relationship, or do you have one?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I met him a few times when he was playing for the Mavs. Now obviously he's in L.A. Obviously a guy that I love to root for with him being -- with us drafting him in Dallas. It obviously hurts a little bit that he's playing for someone else. He's a guy we love supporting and always root for.

Q. Tommy just talked about how the conditions changed from the morning to the afternoon. I know you teed off in the afternoon. Did you feel the difference over the course of your round? How much more difficult did it get?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: We've seen pretty consistent weather over the last few days. Morning is pretty much the time to attack the golf course. That is something we pretty much knew going into today.

It's been unnatural to have this predictable of a forecast at The Open. I feel like we're playing California weather where it's going to be calm in the morning and then pick up and blow 10 to 15 in the afternoons, which around links can be pretty tricky.

Q. What do you have to do tomorrow? Are you going to look at the leaderboards? Right now it's kind of out of your hands.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, just make more birdies. I feel like I'm hitting the ball the way I need to in order to score. I feel like I'm playing a lot better than my score. That part is frustrating, but knowing my game is in a good spot is a good feeling as well.

There's been times this year where I feel like I was getting a lot out of my game. This week feels like a week in which I'm playing a lot better than my score.

A little bit frustrating, but if I continue to do this and hole some putts tomorrow, I could shoot a really low round and move my way up the leaderboard.

Q. It looked like on 17 you got a little animated missing that birdie putt. What was happening there? It looked like the green was a little bumpy.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, that's just part of links. It's part of the surface. Some greens are better than others. There's some weeks the ball kind of bounces around and finds its way in and other times it bounces around and lips out.

It feels like that's what's been happening all week. All I can do is continue to try and execute and give myself opportunities, which I did another good job of today.

I haven't had many bogeys over the course of the week. I just haven't made enough birdies.

Q. Are you happy with your putting stroke? You looked a bit frustrated out there a couple of times.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I'm happy with my stroke.

Q. A lot of players have been asked to weigh in on the Bryson penalty and stuff. Did you see any coverage last night?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I was out practising. I was playing with him yesterday. I don't really have a ton to say on it. Actually, I do have a ton to say. I haven't decided exactly what I want to say publicly yet.

I do have some thoughts. I just -- I don't really feel like now is the time or place for me to comment. We're in the middle of a tournament, and I'm focused on what I need to do. I need to go out tomorrow and shoot a low round. I'm not really going to expand on it too much.

Q. Will you in a few weeks?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I don't know. It's just a tough situation, I think. Like I said, I have a decent amount of thoughts, but probably nothing that I'm concerned with right now.

Yeah, just feel like it's not a road I want to go down today. I have a tournament to focus on, and I'm going to go hit a few balls and hit a few putts. It's my job to go out there and shoot a low round tomorrow. Anything outside of that is outside my control.

Q. Sam Burns just really upgraded his game in majors. You're so close to him. Have you seen any differences in his game that's really pushed on the past few years?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Not really. He's really good at golf.

Q. Totally.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: He's someone I spend so much time around. I know how good he is. Sometimes you just need to continue to build that experience and put yourself in the positions. He was close at the U.S. Open last year. He was close again at the U.S. Open this year.

He's played a lot of really good golf in a lot of the biggest tournaments. It's really difficult to win out here a bunch of times. Sam's a guy that's been knocking on the door a few times this year and hasn't been able to get it done. But like it's just a matter of continuing to give yourself opportunities, continuing to knock on the door.

Sam's a guy that's been on the last few Ryder Cups, last few Presidents Cups, and he's a guy that I see all the time. He's got a ton of talent. For me it's just a matter of time until he gets it done in one of these.

Like I said, just continue to give yourself the opportunities, continue to knock on the door. No, I haven't seen a huge change in his game or anything like that. I think sometime you just need to continue to put yourself in these situations. He's definitely got the talent.