FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP

August 12, 2026

Scottie Scheffler

TPC Southwind

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. We would like to welcome our World No. 1 and FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler to the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Scottie, as you were coming in, you were just talking about this is a special place where you made your pro debut. What memories do you have from that?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: From my pro debut, yes, it's a little bit fuzzy. My memory's not too good. This tournament definitely means a lot to me. Like you said, I made my pro debut here. I remember learning a lot that week about how guys go about their business out here.

Definitely, it was a different feeling for me being a professional stepping into an event. I played some events as an amateur. This was actually one tournament I played as an amateur. It definitely had a different feeling coming in as a pro. I felt like I learned a good amount about kind of how to play professional golf.

Yeah, it definitely just kind of held a different feeling.

THE MODERATOR: As you look back from there to now, this is coming up on a busy three-week stretch, what's it like to begin the playoff season here this week?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, busy three-week stretch. I'm excited. I have three tournaments, three good starts to kind of end the year. Definitely excited to get this week going.

I had a couple of good weeks of rest at home, and I'm looking forward to getting this week started.

THE MODERATOR: Before we open it up to media, Caddie Ted has a mustache, any thoughts on that? Will you be joining him?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I definitely won't be joining him. Yeah, I feel like he always does something like that this time of year, but yeah, he looks stupid.

Q. Just with the news about the tournament losing its premier status in the future, I'm just curious your reaction to that, and kind of in the context of what you were saying before, what this tournament and this course has meant to you.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I played -- this was actually my second start on the PGA TOUR. I played the Byron when I was in high school, and I got an exemption into this tournament as well. I've received two sponsor's exemptions, and I'm extremely grateful for the opportunities I've had from this tournament. I'll be sad to see it go.

We love coming back to Memphis, and I think the golf course is really good. Hopefully it will be part of it in some capacity. Yeah, if it's not, I'll definitely be sad to see it leave.

Q. I know you guys are accustomed to all sorts of conditions, but with it getting up to 100 on Sunday, what are the specific extra precautions that you take that the average fan might not know about?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: A lot of hydration, I think, and a lot of that happens before the round. You can only drink so much water out on the course without getting waterlogged. That's something that we actually experience at home depending on, if I take a break to eat lunch and go back out and chug a bunch of water, you can get waterlogged. It feels like it sits in your belly sometimes.

A lot of the hydration is something you have to focus on beforehand, and it's not necessarily water, it's a lot of electrolytes and stuff like that. The heat is something you really have to prepare for ahead of time.

Q. Scottie, talking about preparation, you talk about water, but what are some must haves that people don't know about that you have in your bag for each tournament?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I always have food. Food and water is really all it is. It's nothing too crazy. Yeah, Teddy always has snacks. My wife makes protein balls for me. Some days I eat them; some days I don't. It depends on if I get hungry or not. I'm not super structured in that part.

Yeah, always food, water, and electrolytes. That's pretty much it. Keep it simple.

Q. Looking back at your performance over the last four years of this tournament, it's gotten better every year, from a missed cut in 2022 to back-to-back top five finishes. What's the biggest thing you've learned about this course the more times you play it?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: A lot of it is ball striking around these places. You've got to hit a lot of fairways. When you're in the fairway, you have good opportunity. The areas to play it. The areas to hit in are really small, and I think that's also what makes it a good golf course.

You've got to challenge a lot of these hazards. There's a lot of hazards on the golf course. If you start playing too safe, you're going to be in the rough. If you get a little overaggressive, you're going to be in the water. So I think this golf course really challenges you to execute often.

Q. The 5th hole here at Southwind has traditionally been the hardest hole here on the course. What do you see on the tee, and what makes that hole so hard for the field and for yourself?

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It's like a 500-yard par-4. It might even be longer now with the new tee. The second shot is challenging because the greens narrow and it typically plays into the wind. The tee shot too, you can't really see the fairway, so you kind of challenge in the tree line.

Yeah, it's I wouldn't say blind, but it's somewhat blind from the sense of if you can't quite see your ball land in the fairway. So hard tee shot and hard second shot, it's a pretty simple recipe for a difficult golf hole.