Xander Schauffele Winner’s Press Conference | 2024 PGA Championship

Watch Xander Schauffele’s press conference following his win at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.

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Contested each May, the PGA Championship is the second major championship in golf’s annual rotation, and perennially features the strongest field in the men’s game based on the Official World Golf Rankings. Known for dramatic finishes and notable champions, the Wanamaker Trophy—which has been awarded to the winner since 1916—is inscribed with names such as Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player.

The 2024 PGA Championship is set to take place between 13-19 May at Valhalla Golf Club. The reigning champion is Brooks Koepka.

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2024 PGA Champion Xander Schley is with us now Xander first of all congratulations how’s it feel to hoist hoist your first W to maker trophy uh it feels amazing um yeah just a wide wide range of emotions for me uh very s very satisfying win and uh I I just I really can’t wait to to get back and celebr with my team that’s great we’ll take a few questions starting on mik seven and then 12 Xander many congratulations you must be absolutely thrilled you said this week that not winning makes you want to win more so I want to ask you now how determined were you to become a major Champion yeah I mean I’ve become very patient not not knocking off any wins in the last couple years uh the people that are closest to me know how stubborn I can be so um winning is winning I I said earlier it is a result I mean this is awesome it’s it’s super sweet but when I when I break it down I’m I’m really just proud of how I handled certain moments on the course today uh different from the past and how tough was it with battle with Bryson Des Shambo already posting 20 under how much pressure were you feeling there the heat of battle I I mean I assumed I assumed someone was going to my goal was to get to 22 today uh I I told Austin when we turned if I can get to 22 I think you know someone’s going to have to beat me um I really didn’t want to go to into a playoff with Bryson going going up 18 is just not with his length it’s not something that you know I was going to have a whole lot of fun with but I was able to capture that moment there getting up and down 17 was really big um and then that chip there on 18 was big for me as well so um I just kept telling myself I need to earn this uh earn this and and be be in the moment and I was able to do that 12 Xander what what were your emotions like when that putt was on its way on 18 um I was pretty nervous I was uh I walked up I saw a little left to right I kept reading it I kept kind of panning it started to look right to left to me and I was like oh my gosh this is not what I want for a winning putt fortunately it was uphill it was you know six fetish I ended up playing it straight it did go left caught the left side just a huge just so much relief when it lipped in I don’t even really remember it lipping in I just he heard everyone roaring um and I just look up to the sky in relief Mike seven sander can you walk us through your second shot on 18 including what you thought when you saw where it finally finished Yeah 178 were kind of weird for me 16 I hit a really good drive uh had mud on the right side of my ball um had an eight iron in wasn’t able to be super aggressive uh just because in the mud there kind of hunging out to the right mud didn’t affect it 177 uh I I thought I you know I just didn’t hit it high enough I hit it hard enough just not high enough and it kind of Hit the lip and the bunker there wasn’t a great lie so really happy with that and then 18 again it was just like I was I just kept telling myself I was like man this is someone out there is making me earn this right now uh I just kept grinding you know I get up there and just kind of chuckled I was like this is just you know if you want to be a major champion this is the kind of stuff you have to deal with so I dealt with it um and you know happily was able to you know push that thing up uh my only concern was sort of shanking it from more of a baseball swing let’s go next to nine2 and five yeah um your major record before you got here from the outside always looked like deeply impressive did you look at it that way or did you were you more apt to look at it as lacking I I uh I I don’t think I’d ever look at it as lacking I looked at it as someone that is trying really hard uh and needs more experience and you know all those close calls for me even last week you know that sort of feeling it gets to you at some point um and it just makes this even sweeter uh you know I told Todd Lewis he he he asked me sort of you know how I felt about the week and I said it’ll make my next win even sweeter so this is I know it’s major but just winning in general this is a sweet as it gets for me m uh Danny so you’ve had the narrative thrown at you for the at least the last few months maybe the year you know I know you said it wasn’t bothering you but let’s be honest now how how annoying was it to hear it from us over and over again when is it going to come and how did you use that as fuel definitely uh chip on the shoulder there um it just is is what it is at the end of the day I mean you guys are asking the questions uh probing and I have to sit here and answer it you know it’s a lot easier to answer it with this thing sitting next to me now obviously but um yeah it’s just fuel fuel to my fire it always has been grown up and uh it it certainly was leading up to this you always at the beginning of your career fed off the underdog status then you almost had a lull when you became Elite some somewhat winning how did you get back to believing the underdog again um I referred to it earlier uh we have a all of us are climbing this massive Mountain at the top of the mountain skot Sheffer you know I won this today but I’m still not that close to Scotty Sheffer uh in the big scheme of things so you know I got one good hook up there in the mountain up on that cliff and I’m still climbing um you know I’m I might have a beer up there on that side of the Hill there and and enjoy this but uh you know it’s not that hard to to to chase when someone’s so far ahead of you Xander I know you know as as an athlete you always have to believe in yourself and believe that you’re going to win but did was there ever a moment that you maybe doubted that this major Championship win would come when you look at all the great players out there who don’t have major titles I just you know I I I believe in positive selft talk you know I I will tell myself I’ll speak to myself um I just kept doing it you know when you believe something enough it’ll happen and um you know I I never really it starts to wear on you I’d say and that’s kind of what I told Austin I just I really want to make sure I make the right decisions I don’t want to get impatient um and you know I I really I just I believed in in what I can do and you know this is just fruits of it and then how key was it for you to post those back toback birdies after the lone bogey that you had on 10 yeah I mean it’s not like I’ve I’ve I’ve made a a stupid bogey before and then I’ve hit a really good shot after that I just today I finally made those putts um I finally had enough Pace or it leapt in or whatever you want to call it you know you know it was my moment and I was able to capitalize on on some on some good iron shots coming in so um it just in in those moment moment you know you can kind of feel it and in the past when I I I didn’t do it I just it just wasn’t there and today I could feel that it was there next up 11 six and 13 yeah Xander kind of following up on that what what did you tell yourself after the the 10th and I think when you got up to the 11th green I I believe Victor had pulled even at the top and there was a scoreboard right there did you see that yeah I was looking at it uh typically and I’ve I mean someone like me who’s pretty much tried everything to be completely honest that hasn’t won in two years you you tried not to look at the leader boards until the back nine you try to look at them early you try not to look at them at all um today I I looked at him I looked at them all day I I really wanted to to feel everything I wanted to address everything that I was feeling in the moment and uh I thought I had the lead so when I looked up at the board I was like you know I saw Javi was at 19 so I was back into chasing mode and I knew that put was was really big in the tournament Xander what were the moments that you felt today you handled differently um ear I mean I I didn’t get frustrated uh on the first hole I I just kept telling myself you know just be calm be patient put a good stroke on this one that one in on three I I thought I hit a good putt it looked like it kind of bounced to the right uh in some sort of Mark that I didn’t see that I didn’t fix and it lipped out um made it that good putt on four uh missed that one on three and then on five I left that short I just kept telling myself that uh just weather the storm you know um I I knew that birdies had to be made so there was some sort of aggression that I knew coming into today you know it wasn’t like a a tournament round where I could kind of sit back and shoot two or three under it just wasn’t going to be enough so I knew that I need to have some Pace on my putts some more aggressive lines coming into pins and um that putt on on five six sorry six was big for me that powerp was big when people would call you the best player never to win a major what how did you view that statement it’s just noise um that’s what I think I thought I was uh not that not that people saying it made me think that I just felt like you know I’ve I’ve done enough work I’m good enough to do it I just needed to shut my mind up and and actually do it Xander your golf swing is a little bit different maybe than it was a year or two ago how did those changes on this golf course this week uh help you sit next to the trophy yeah all year actually it’s been this is probably the most comfortable I felt with some of the changes that that Chris Chris was able to implement they weren’t big changes just getting the club a little bit more on plane up top was was key um shoulders maybe a little bit steeper um I Trend to go a little bit fat flat and a little laid off so I felt like last week I was there’s some intimidating two- shots there I was able to hit some good drivve so I I pull I pulled on that a little bit this week you know um knowing that the fairways are are soft so if you hit a good drive it’s going to pretty much end up where it goes and um yeah it’s been amazing working with Chris he’s he’s been awesome and um definitely a contributing factor to to me holding this thing today Dyan on three and then Jeff on four please was there a moment where you felt the magnitude of the tournament like was there a certain point in the round where you felt like all right this is big this is a major this is Do or Die time on six I felt like six to S was a really big stretch for me I saw a bunch of guys putting that thing in the morning it was sort of there was mud on my ball it was like into the grain it was uphill and I saw I saw DJ actually in coverage putt it up to like two feet and I was like a that doesn’t look that bad you know and then I bobbled my putt up the hill and started bouncing early and with the zoa it’s it’s pretty dangerous to do that so I just I really calmed myself I just said you know uh greens are a little bit bumpy just put a good stroke on it and you know the rest is history and I was able to to roll that one in which was really big and then that put on 72 and that sort of calmed me a little bit um and then you know I was actually pretty calm when I made that put on nine um and then 10 I was a little greedy uh trying to hit that shot so I’d say that that early stretch for me was really big Jeff Xander what will it mean for you to go back to Paris in the Olympics now as a major champion it’s just a cherry on top you know uh it’s totally separate to to competing in the Olympics I mean it’s it definitely helps with the qualifying process that was my goal obviously was to qualify the US team is strong one it’s a hard one to qualify for so um I’m hoping you know I imagine this win probably secures me into qualifying for the Olympics but uh that’s a that’s a whole different ball game um winning that one U but definitely uh be able to pull some confidence from this thing 149 and 8 hey Xander uh you talked about wanting to celebrate and looking forward to celebrating with everyone who’s here they were obviously super excited for the win can you just tell us who is here and how influential or uh great have they been for your life and your golf yeah um my uncle’s my agent he’s he’s been with me uh from the beginning of the year um my brother cooks for me uh he’s not a professional cook but he can make some tasty food uh so he’s been willing to help me um hopefully he stays out with me a little longer he just got engaged my wife she’s sort of the Rock in my life she’s she’s constant for me my two dogs um and I had an old buddy uh and his girlfriend traveled down from New York and uh I think you saw probably Max’s caddy Joe was there uh he’s really close with Austin I’m good buddies with Joe and Dave Taylor Morris cadd as well um those are the people that I saw uh coming up the green and then Chris was there as well he he kind of hung around and uh was here for it which was awesome Xander dad’s been such a part of this journey is it a little bit odd to not have him here in the biggest win um and how much is he in your head as you’re battling today yeah he was uh he crept into my mind yesterday during an interview um I just said I’m G to have to sneak back to that commit execute accept that’s something that he’s in granted me since I was about N9 years old um I was actually able to call him when I was standing to to waiting to walk on the 18th green and uh he was a mess he was crying on the phone um and it it made me pretty emotional uh actually I told him I had to hang up because I had to walk down I couldn’t show up looking looking like the way I was but um uh yeah my my parents have have you know they’re not here this week uh but you know they they know how important they are to me and uh my dad you know his his goal he’s been my swing coach and you know my mentor my entire life and his goal was really to to just just like any good dad would want just to set your kid up for for a successful future and and you know he really meant that you know he was like I what capacity am I going to help you this week you know he sent me a positive text throughout the week um you know all week even last week as well and uh you know now that I’m working with Chris you know he feels like he can kind of take his hands off the wheel a little bit he trusts him a lot I trust him a lot so um you know I my dad’s at that stage in his life I really want him to be happy and um I know this is going to be bring him a ton of Joy uh where where he’s at in in Hawaii right now do you remember him ever crying about anything in your golf he my dad’s actually people you know he’s referred to as the ogre but he’s a big teddy bear uh you know Steve Stricker wins a tournament and he’s crying my dad’s sitting there right on the couch crying with him he that’s the kind of guy he is thanks eight and H me again um you you had a wonderful career and I I wonder when as you reflect back on the last few years what what do you feel has been the biggest hurdle to overcome to get to this point to This Magnificent moment in your life and career I mean I’m I’m a big believer of of getting the right foundation the right people around you um having having a good team around you and then uh you know I believe that if you if you put in the hard work and you let yourself do what you think you can do uh you know you’re going to have some fruits fruits to the labor so to be specific about it I’m not really sure to be honest I felt like I’ve been on this sort of trending path for quite some time I just I had to stay patient I really had to stay patient and keep the self belief up and I was able to do both those things three then seven uh I know one of your sayings has been steady drip breaks the stone I imagine this is what that looks like uh it’s actually what my dad texted me last night last night yeah in German in German though I had to ask him what the translation was do you know do you know how to pronounce it in German uh I can look it up but probably not yeah uh and I imagine that’s just something that you guys have shared is his sayings over the years is that kind of true yeah yeah I mean there’s been some famous uh German philosophers and um my my dad you know he was bit of a a a reader growing up so I’m sure that’s where he got a lot of them from and he’s definitely put them in my brain uh when I hear the like the US versions of them they sound super foreign you know when I’m like oh that’s kind of sounds like this one I know but that’s just my dad being my dad and coming from Germany s Xander just curious why weren’t you looking forward to a battle with Bryson in a playoff it’s just 18 it’s like a driver pitching wedge for him or like a nineiron maybe I don’t even know you know if he like Tomahawk draw off the water it’s literally going to be like a driver nine iron maybe I mean you can ask him eight iron so um it’s just one of those things you know if you run that stat in your head sort of like who has the advantage it’s the guy who hits it further you know for playing like a long part three or like a short part four something like maybe I feel like I’d have an edge but you just you know I kind of calculate those things in my head and I knew it was it was important to take advantage of that back here to Mike five hey Xander does it add anything to this victory that you just posted the lowest 72 whole score in the history of a major championship or like you said you wouldn’t care if whatever the winning score was I I mean it’s just the weather that came through I mean valhal is a is a is a big property and uh the weather really in the fog and sort of all those things you know if every day was like today I mean I think the greens would have been firmer the fads would have been firmer it would have been harder to hit them they kind of would have started rolling off into the rough those kinds of things but just sort of had to take what the course was going to give me and um I just you know getting to 21 just had to be done and for it to be a part of history is is obviously pretty cool we’ll wrap it up with Jeff your ability to put last week behind you quickly this week there was a focus about you what kind of factor was that in getting this done I mean I actually used last week as sort of fuel I mean it was some of the best ball striking I’ve had in in quite some time shaping it right to left left to right um and I knew that this course was sort of you had to do those things you had to hit it far you had to shape the ball correctly and it was going to be sort of a it turned into not a putting contest but you know whoever can hit it the closest from the Fairway with their irons from distance because it just kind of plugging on the green so I kind of use that as fuel and and it calmed me a little bit knowing you know I’m coming into a major in good form thanks for your time Xander congrats again thanks guys