The 2024 Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler Chronicles His Second Green Jacket Victory

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It's a privilege to welcome our 2024 Masters champion, Scotty Scheffler. Scotty, congratulations on your great victory. Two years after your breakthrough here at Augusta National, here you are again in a green jacket as a two-time Masters champion. Can you describe your emotions as you hit your final button? Yeah, I'm glad I brought my stroke average, my putting average down to 18, that's nice. Down to, you know, five strokes, two and a half was my average. No, it's hard to put into words how special this is. It's been a long week, a grind of a week, the golf course was so challenging and to be sitting here wearing this jacket again and getting to take it home is, it's extremely special. Great, I'm so proud of you Scotty. Scotty, two part question. One, I see you've got some knee theology tape on, I assume that's from your neck. And two, how was this Sunday morning different than the Sunday morning two years ago? Yeah, the Sunday morning was definitely different. Yeah, instead of just me and Meredith at the house, I had a couple of buddies with me and we sat, relaxed, tried not to think about golf, it was increasingly difficult. But, you know, they were a great support for me this morning and yeah, it was a long morning, but it was well worth it, I'm glad to be sitting here as well. Don? Well, I'm definitely not going to intentionally take my eye off the ball. I will go home, soak in this victory tonight. Will definitely enjoy the birth of my first child, but with that being said, you know, I still love competing. My priorities will change here very soon. And my son or daughter will now be the main priority along with my wife to golf, and that'll be probably the fourth in line. But, I still love competing. Scotty, what do you consider the most important shot you hit today? The most important shot? I would say that the best momentum turner that I had today was the birdie putt on 8. And I had two really good shots in there along the green, I had an extremely difficult pitch that I hit up there about 10-12 feet from the top. It was a challenging read because it turned early and it was really straight at the end. So, it was a putt that you really had to start on line and hope it held its line. And, you know, I poured that one in and then, you know, it kind of gave me some good momentum and I used that to go to 9 and 10. You know, keep pushing because I knew there was birdies out there on the back line. I had a lot of really talented players trying to chase me down and I knew part of me was going to get it done. Can you explain the difference of how it feels remotely between four putting the last green and one putting? One putting is significantly easier. Yeah, I tried not to let my emotions get the best of me this time. I kept my head down, I didn't even, I don't even think I took my hat off in front of the crowd when I was walking up 18. I did my best to stay in the moment and I wanted to finish off the tournament the right way. And I got to step in there after the one putting instead of the four putting. Scotty, Collin was talking about how much farther you were than him on a couple of holes. How much advantage that is. Do you see it as a massive mental advantage when you're, you know, a couple hundred yards or 50 hundred yards ahead of Collin? I mean, I don't know if I was that far ahead. Collin may have exaggerated a little bit, but yeah, I drove the ball really well this week. I was hitting it hard. Today was a day where I was able to swing freely and around this place, I mean, distance is very important on this golf course. The fairways are fairly wide and when the greens are this firm, you have to have short clubs when we use greens, especially with the little areas they are to where they could hit. And so, I would say I was swinging a bit harder this week than I would in a normal PGA Tour event just because there's a bit more room on the team. At a regular tour stop or U.S. Open or something like that, my tee height may be a little bit lower and I may be hitting more different types of shots, but a lot of the drives I hit this week, I was just teaming high and hitting it hard. That's pretty much it. Congratulations, Scotty. I know you said you kept your head down all day, basically, but at any point, did you allow yourself to enjoy the lead you had? Enjoy the lead? No. I think, just like any human would, your mind starts to wander a little bit out there on the golf course. We were out there for four or five hours at a time. You've got to let your mind wander. I tried to soak in stuff around me today. I looked up at the trees at times. I looked up at the hands occasionally and tried to soak in some of their energy, but did not ever let myself get attached to the lead. I just tried to keep pushing. I mean, I think if I would have played a little bit defensively, it would have been a significantly different finish. I went for the green on 2 on 13 and was able to make birdie. I attacked 10 on 14 and was able to make birdie. I went for it again on 15 and was able to make a nice par. I hit a really good shot on the 16 to make birdie. If I was just trying to play for pars to hold back 9, I would have been sitting there on 18 having to make a par and hoping, luckily, we would only make a par. Around this golf course, you have to stay aggressive. You have to hit the right shots. There's no way around it out here. You can't play too defensively. You can't play too aggressively. You just have to hit the right shots. Fortunately, today I was able to do that. Sean Hart. That's a really good question. I was sitting around with my buddies this morning. I was a bit overwhelmed because I told them, I wish that I didn't want to win as badly as I did. Or as badly as I did. I think it would make the mornings easier. I love winning. I hate losing. I really do. When you're hearing the biggest moments, when I'm sitting there with the lead on Sunday, I really, really want to win badly. My buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the rocks. That's a pretty special feeling to know that I'm secure for forever. It doesn't matter whether or not I win this tournament or if I lose this tournament. My identity is secure forever. James. Got it. I'm wondering, what did you learn about the game at the golf course from your previous experiences from past tournaments? I think it's a difficult golf course to close out the win on. I mean, there's, like I said, you can't play overly defensive. 12 is a good example of a hole where if you play overly defensive, like where the pin is today, you're trying to hit it right over that line. Right there in front of the green. If you pull it, or righty, it goes further. Like, you can see Max Nomen in front of us maybe pulled his a touch, and it flies in the bushes long. I mean, I've hit it in the bushes long in multiple times. So you can't just sit up there and play overly defensive. You have to play to the correct spot and hit really good golf shots. And I did that to the best of my abilities today and was fortunately able to hit some really good shots and make some nice birdies in the back nine. Really, from hole eight on, I just, I played really, really nice golf. Andy. You were speaking about your plans, but can you just tell us a bit about how much of a future you have when you're actually out there on the court? Does it help you coach? Does it help you win? Does that have a part in it? Yeah, I mean, I believe that today's plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing but set those plans. I've been given a gift of this talent, and I use it throughout the career. That's pretty much it. So when I'm out there, I try to give it to the best of my ability. Like I said, I really want to win. I feel like that's how I was designed. I've been that way since I was a young kid, and that's always been a part of me, and I don't think that should be going away any time soon. I don't believe there's anything wrong with that either, but at the end of the day, like I said, my identity is super important. And I get to come out here, compete, have fun, enjoy it, and then at the end of the day, win or lose, my identity is super important. Hi. How much do you struggle with just the idea of discontentment, of needing whether it's more wins, more money, more things, to be satisfied, and when do you find yourself most content? That's a good question. I feel like playing professional golf is an endlessly not satisfying career. For instance, in my head, all I can think about right now is getting home. I'm not thinking about the tournament. I'm not thinking about the green jacket. I'm trying to answer your question, but I'm trying to get home. I wish I could soak this in a little bit more. Maybe I will tonight when I get home, but at the end of the day, I think that's what the human heart does. You always want more, and I think you've got to fight those things and focus on what's good. Because, like I said, winning this golf tournament does not change my identity. I cannot emphasize that enough. You mentioned you know your life is going to change. What are you looking forward to most about your new job? Well, I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks hopefully getting a bit of sleep, and then in a couple of months, I'm probably not getting any sleep. I mean, I'm excited. I think it's funny. When you get married, a lot of people tend to make jokes about like, oh, your life's over, yada, yada, yada. My friends were always very excited for me to get married, but you get some people offhand just making jokes and stuff like that. When it comes to having a kid, every single person says that it changes your life and it's the most special thing in the world, so I cannot... Marriage has been such a tremendous aspect of my life, I cannot even imagine what being a parent is going to be like. Brian. Scott, you seem like you're in total control right now of your game, in the zone, whatever it might be. How do you feel out there, and do you feel like you're playing your best golf right now? I feel like I'm playing really good golf right now. I feel like I'm in control of my emotions as I've ever been, which is a good place to be. I feel like I'm maturing as a person on the golf course, which is a good place to be. I think it's hard to argue with the results of the last few weeks, when it's been really nice golf, but I really try not to focus too much on the past. I'm going to go home and reflect on this week, and it's so good, and that's my game. Like I said, it's not a very satisfying sport, but it's good to be able to be in a place where it's better. Exactly, Brian. Adam. Scotty, was there anything Meredith said to you this morning that helped you in trying to make it through today? She just asked how she could pray for me, and I actually wasn't able to talk to her for very long this morning, which was unusual, but she sent a lot of prayers, but my neck was bugging me a little bit, so pray for some healing, and just pray for me to have a lot of peace out there. I had a good conversation with my buddies over here this morning about victory and that victory and being secure. So yeah, it was a longer morning again than anticipated this year, but I would say it wasn't as long as it was a couple years ago, but it's still a long time. Is that the only time this week that your neck bothered you? Yeah, I think it was... I think when you get stressed out, I think your body just reacts to it, whether or not it's something vague, or your body starts aching, I think my body was just reacting to the stress. Yeah. Brian. Scotty, can you take us back to the decision that you and Randy made to hire Bill Kenyon, what that meant to you at the time, and what it means now? After Eastlake last year, I remember riding home on a plane and sitting there talking to Blake, and we kind of looked at each other, and I think we were both thinking the same thing, and we both kind of looked at each other and were like, you know, I think I want to see a foot volleyball coach. And Blake goes, I think that's a good idea. Let's talk to Randy. And I had watched Bill before, I watched some coach players, and I think when you're out here for as long as I have been, I just see stuff, and I love the way that Bill coaches his players. You know, you look at a guy like Tootsie who lines up a lot of his clubs and uses a putter that has a lot of swing to it. Then you look at a guy like Eden Bradley who fell off of Teachers who doesn't use a line on the ball, uses a big, giant putter with a cross-handed input to it. And so as I watched Bill, I could tell that he was open-minded, and that's the type of people I like to work with. We kind of hit the ground running there in the fall, and I can't speak highly enough of the decision that Randy also made to just be open-minded, not take an ego to it, just sit there, watch us work, watch Bill do his thing. Bill is also a guy that does not have a big ego. He just wants the best for his players, and I'm really, really fortunate to have those two guys as part of my team. I can't... It's hard to... It's hard to describe what it's like having somebody... I mean, Randy had taught me for almost 20 years, every single aspect of the game. And so for me to have to bring in somebody else could have been a shock to his ego. He may not have wanted me to do it, but Randy sat there, and he said, you know what, I think this is the right time. So we called Bill, and about a week later, he came in and had a visit. We worked for a couple days, and yeah, now we're here. Might be a game in the past. I just wondered, when you talked about your own parents, there was one thing from that that really struck you about them, and also, how long have you been able to watch them play? I guess starting with my upbringing, you know, my parents always wanted what's best for me. I swear my dad, I think, would lay in front of traffic if it means that I wouldn't get scratched on the lawn. I mean, he would die for me if he did. I mean, both my parents would. They were such special people. And so, first and foremost, I think how much love they have for us growing up, I mean, that's what I'm looking forward to most, I think, about being able to work my talent like my parents worked me. How long will it take me to put a plastic glove in my kids' hands? You know, it's funny, I watch my dad do a lot. My older sister had her first child when she was two in June, and some people want to be like their parents, and some people don't want to be like their parents. Hayes is a kid that wants to be just like his dad. His dad loves grass. I got a video of my sister the other day of Hayes falling. His dad was in the back yard. His dad was in the lawn, and Hayes was falling in front of the plastic lawn mower. Andrew loves to play golf. Hayes loves to play golf. What's my kid going to like? Who the heck knows? Who knows what they'll pick up on, but whatever it is, you know, I just want to be there for them. That's definitely what they'll do. Buddy, when you look across your game on the week as a whole, what do you think you did best? I would say the two aspects of my game that were probably the best were short game and driving, I think. Probably short game being the worst. I mean, just looking at a day like today, first two holes, the first three holes, really, for that matter. First hole, Teddy and I got the wind completely wrong. I hit a good shot, and we missed our target by like 25 yards. And that's the kind of stuff that happens during a game. But I hit a nice chip up there to about 4 or 5 feet, knocked it in. Number two, we get the wind wrong again. Didn't hit a great shot, but I didn't hit that bad of a shot. It should have still been on the green. And so that airmail went really tough off and another really good catch to about 4 or 5 feet. And then on number three, hit a good drive, ends up there in the bunker, and it's not an easy bunker shot. You're going up in a slow direction, but the bunker is extremely deep. And hit a great bunker shot there So I'd say, I think probably a short game. Steve. Congratulations. I think we're doing some remarkable things right now. I know it's a tough game, but you haven't had one round over par the entire year when you're second major here. Can you talk about what's allowing you to play so well? When you talk to the other golfers, they say, you're here, and the rest of them start there. Do you sense that you're doing something different? Something special right now? I try not to think about the past or the future too much. I love trying to live in the present. I've had a really good start to the year, and I hope that I can continue on this path that I'm on. I'm going to continue to put in the work that's got me here. And yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm just going to continue to put in the work, keep my head down. I like when I step up on the tee at a tournament, being able to tell myself that I did everything I could to play well, and the rest is up to me. And so, when I step up on the tee next week, I'm going to be thinking about the preparation for it to get there, and then I'm going to go out and just try to play as freely as possible. Are any of these things impressive to you? For example, the no rounds over par this year? I mean, no rounds over par is great. I hate shooting over par. I can't tell you how much I hate shooting over par. It's nice to not experience that yet. Hi, Scotty. Have you talked to Meredith yet, and what was her setup for watching today? I did FaceTime her, although it was very brief. She was at her aunt's house. They just built a new house in Dallas, where she actually stayed this weekend. And so, they had a nice little group there watching. It's like maybe seven or eight people in the background. But honestly, my head's been spinning since I got off the tee. I can't even really tell you who was in the video other than Meredith. First of all, Scotty, right back to you. Congratulations. Second of all, when you take a look back at your win here in 2022 and your win here today, what stands out most to you between getting your first green jacket and your second, other than just having a green jacket? Yeah, I think when I look at the tournament from two years ago, I built myself a lead on Friday afternoon and was able to... I mean, cruise isn't really the right word for how it went over the weekend, but I was able to just play with the lead and play comfortably. Whereas this week, I felt like I was battling the whole week. You know, you go out there on Thursday and it's so windy and I was able to shoot a great score. And then the next two days were really just a fight. I mean, we were fighting all the time. I mean, I think it was Friday afternoon when we went out. I can't even describe to you how difficult those conditions were. I mean, I hit driver 300. So 15 was into the wind on Thursday and I hit driver 300 on the week. 15 was into the wind again today and I hit driver 400 on the week. And I took too long. On Friday afternoon, I hit driver 300 and I had 70 yards left. I mean, it was insane how windy it was. And it was just a battle. It was a long week. You know, I had to battle some ups and downs. And, you know, I'm very fortunate to be sitting here. But yeah, it was definitely a difficult week. One left, but in handy. Scott, when you got on the back nine, was there any point where you decided, no matter what, not leaving? Because you got a call. Oh, oh. What are you talking about? Of course I'm not leaving. No, no, honestly. You know, I guess that's a testament to how good of a headspace I was in. I wasn't thinking about that much. I was doing my best to stay in the moment, stay calm, execute shots. I was very focused out there today. I felt like I did a really good job. Teddy did a great job of making sure that we kept the golf course in front of us. I didn't get off to the best start, but had some key ups and downs. And, you know, Teddy, once again, did a great job of keeping me in it. And yeah, we had a great week. All right, Scott, before we go, can you take us through which clubs you used when you made your birdies and bogeys today? Because we have that historical record. Okay. Birdies and bogeys. So number three, I used a driver and a lob wedge. No, I, and then I bogeyed on four. I hit a three iron over the green. Par five, par six. Seven was unusual because I hit driver, four iron, lob wedge. Number eight was driver, three iron, lob wedge. Number nine was driver, lob wedge. Ten was driver, pitching wedge. Eleven was a bogey. That was driver, seven iron, lob wedge. Thirteen was driver, four iron. Fourteen was three wood wedge. Sixteen was an eight iron. Yeah. Great. Well, Scotty, thank you and congratulations on your incredible second master. Thanks, y'all. Appreciate it. Thank you, guys. See y'all. Thank you.