Scottie Scheffler’s news conference after winning FedExCup and TOUR Championship

we'd like to welcome our 2024 FedEx Cup champion to the media center Scotty you spent 25 weeks um at number one the final 25 weeks of the Season at number one in our FedEx Cup standings longest active streak at the number one spot in tour history how does that feel to get it done just a few a few hours ago yeah feels uh feels really nice um yeah like you said I've been leading the the points list for a long time and so to come in here with the with a lead is uh you know it's nice to play the way I did and be able to to finish it off the right way with that we'll open it up to questions if we can just get a mic we'll start with Doug Ferguson over here on the right Scotty how do you rank this win I'm just kidding genius just kidding you know you had and I know it's an asteris but you technically were leading by by seven shots on Thursday and I'm just curious how this week how difficult this week was given how hard it is to play with big leads knowing that frankly you could only you could only lose from there you know what I mean by that uh I think so uh I mean I tried to I tried my best to just stay in the present this week and iel like I did a really good job of that uh in terms of the lead it's unusual playing this many rounds of a tournament with a lead especially you know a seven shot lead after the first round is something that I will probably never have at any other tournament besides this one um so it's definitely it's a bit of a different feeling I feel like sometimes this tournament lasts longer than other tournaments I don't know why um but it just like I'm I'm exhausted right now there's really no other way around it I'm just really really tired um so if my answers are not very good I'm blaming it on the exhaustion we'll go to Dave choski with golf dig next no I'm kind of disappointed that whatever I asked might not be a great answer but uh tell us the thought process that you uh that you went through as you walked to the night and that approach coach not only on nine but 10 and 11 and just how you got through that period there well most of the week I was playing really well I felt like I was doing a lot of stuff well and I wasn't getting a ton out of it um I started with the lead and that's why I was still in the league only because I started with it you know if it was a regular tournament I think I would have been a couple Strokes behind but would have been right in the tournament um and so Teddy did a good job of just reminding me that I was playing well and to continue to do what I was doing and um you know that we were still in control of the tournament still had a two- shot lead still in total control um and if I played you know my best golf on that back nine then um I was going to be most likely holding the trophy if I if I went out and with a two-stroke lead and played my best then I I felt like I was going to win the tournament so I changed my focus and was able to hit a really nice shot in there into nine and uh really Chang the momentum of the round for we'll go to Mark Schon next with the ESPN Scotty what what happened on that shot out of the bunker I shanked it why did you shake it uh so there's a the club like there's the straight part of the face and then over here is the huzzle and on that one specifically I I caught too much of that part of the face then that's why I went to the right so it's shaped kind of you know a little curve and then so like if I hit the straight part it's going to go that way straight and then if I hit this part it's going to come you know towards you I know the season thank you I know the season just ended but can you um put into words what this year has been like with the birth of your son a second Green Jacket a gold medal what happened at valala I mean all in the span of like eight months I mean if you can describe it in words more power to you cuz I I don't think I can um it's been a long year it's been a very fun year I think emotionally right now I'm I'm pretty drained uh so I'm looking forward to going home and getting rest for a week or so before I start prepping for the President's Cup cuz uh you know that's a tournament that I really really want us to go out there and win and so um yeah I really don't know how to put into words it's been a a very eventful year but it's been a lot of fun you have the really just the one weird spot there at Valhalla which uh I just don't really know what to say about it but um yeah everything else has been been pretty special we'll go to Bob perig next front row uh Scotty uh not to belor it but most most golfers have a hard time the next shot after a shank that's what you always hear right like it's it's it's in your head right like how you going to hit the next one I'm just obviously you hit the great t- shot on nine but still like is that lingering at all even on that next Chip Shot like that you're hitting I mean and and how what have one would have been the last time you actually did that I I would think that's pretty rare so that actual specific bunker shot for some reason I need to figure out why but I shank it a lot more often than I should when I'm on a side slope like that um thinking about on the next shot not really just because it's a bunker it's a totally different shot if I had shanked a wedge from the middle of the Fairway I'm sure it maybe would have crept in like I remember I had a shank at the president c a couple years ago and over my next Iron shot you can definitely feel you know the toe of the club kind of flipping over to make sure it beats the heel there so the ball doesn't you know so I don't shank it again but this one specifically since it was a bunker shot no I didn't really kind of go into the rest of the game um but if it was a normal wed shot from the middle of the Fairway then yeah I think probably would have been a bit more uh challenging to overcome we'll go to Shawn Martin next on the left this being the final Tournament of the Season how does it feel different when you don't win it and maybe how does it feel different when you do win it compared to other tournaments well I'll keep you posted on what it feels like to win it um I've I've left here the last couple years being a bit disappointed just in terms of you know like you said it's the last term of the year and now that we actually have an offseason um it's one of the great things about our game is um even even though we do lose a lot more often than we win there's usually you can come out the next week and and try again with it being the last ter of the year you know I take a break after this and so there's not much opportunity to kind of get the taste out of your mouth um so this year you know they'll definitely have a different feeling the next couple days at home being able to to win the last tournament not not you know lose it we'll go to Rex haer with the Golf Channel Next Scotty you don't show a lot of emotion on the golf course A lot of times but what was your mindset after the seventh and eight holes were you aggravated were you frustrated was there anything that Teddy might have said to you well I was definitely frustrated um you know like I said I've been playing really solid golf most of the week you I've been playing really well and I just happened to have two bad holes in a row basically um and I hadn't really had many bad holes the whole week and they just happened to come in a row and so Teddy just kind of did a good job of reminding me that we're still in control of the tournament I'm still playing great I need to just go out and get back get back to work basically is the speech he kind of gave me is just get back to work um and and that's what we did we'll go to Doug next well I mean in terms of freshness I'd say probably the one after number eight I mean you're really challenging me right now having to look in the past um I can't I mean I don't really have the brain power I'll probably have to get back to on that one but just because it's fresh in my mind probably the one who gave me a walking off number at um but really Teddy gives me good speeches all the time time I mean that's why he's such a great caddy I mean it's uh I don't think there's a a day goes by that he's not giv me some pretty decent advice or give me a good laugh when I need it um you know he really is you know my biggest asset out there on the course and he's a huge part of the team anything else for Scotty go to Shawn Martin couple more what is it about starting the week with the lead that makes this tournament feel so much longer I mean I guess just starting with the lead um like what are the Tuesday Wednesday any different than th they normally would be at a normal event or not really but um I think playing with the lead I think can be challenging at times for people mentally you know you you but at the end of the day two shots for 72 event is not a lot of shots like I lost the lead the first ho of the tournament um technically speaking I wasn't in the lead anymore I was tied um and so two shots is really not that much but I think that's part of the the challenge to the format is it's U it's a lot different mentally you know it's something that I never would have thought that I needed to prepare for when I was a kid I never thought about having starting Strokes to start a tournament um and so I think that aspect definitely makes it feel a bit longer you know your teen off last um that's a position you always want to be in but to start the tournament like that is is a bit weird was there anything thing specifically you tried to do this year differently than the previous two years um not really I think I just handled it much better mentally you know like like you said last uh two years ago I I had the big lead going into Sunday and wasn't able to get it done and I I lost that lead I think pretty early on the front nine and actually played good after that I just wasn't able to get it done in the end um and then this year you know I think the leag got down to two shots after number eight and um he just did a really good job of kind of getting back my focus and Teddy gave me the nice speech and I was able to kind of get back into the right frame of mind and then hit some really nice shots from from there on in last couple we'll go to Adam shoe pack next Scotty you you started working on the putting late last season you won right away in the Bahamas but then there was a bit of a low when when do you feel like the putting really clicked and and how key was that to this week's Victory um I felt like I was kind of gradually building towards something you know I had some some decent starts to the year you know I had uh couple top 10 to start and I was close to winning in Phoenix and then uh overall I was playing really solid I knew I was close and then you know I had the hot week and at Bay Hill where I was able to um kind of improve my as the week went on you know I switched to the spider but it wasn't like something immediate you know first day I just you know made everything it was one of those deals where I had to give it the full chance because it's different than the putter that I've used pretty much my whole life and um you know I gave it a good chance that week and was able to improve as a week went on had the big finish on Sunday and then um you know I I made a lot of putts this year when I really needed to um you know I think of you know the putt to win Memorial I think of some of the putts I made over the week at the players and the putts I made the back n Sunday at the Olympics like I made some putts this year when I really needed to and you know that's that's why I'm sitting here with a lot of wins instead of a few you know last year I was playing good golf and I wasn't able to make the key pots at the right time and you know this year I was and so that's that's really just the difference yeah seven wins I mean that's that's what T Tiger Woods type season what does that mean to you yeah it's great um still don't understand why the Olympics doesn't count um that's it's a bit weird to me um you know I think that's part of the you know the greed that goes on in your brains as you say seven I'm kind of like well no I won eight you know I won the Olympics in the middle of the the year and it some for some reason doesn't count as an official PGA Tour win it counts the same as no offense to the hero but it counts the same as the Hero World Challenge and the grand scheme of things um but overall I mean it's been a great year I'm I'm proud of the results um it's something I try not to focus too much on but at the end of the day being able to win tournaments is is a great feeling and you know it's what we work towards and to be able to to have as many wins as I have this year is is is um is really special and we'll finish with Doug here this postseason doesn't always Define a great season as as you know um if you were being honest was there any part of you that was that it notd on you that you hadn't won this yet that it nod on me yeah aggravated you bothered you I I me yeah if I'm going to be honest with myself yeah definitely did um you know I've been the player of the year for the tour the last two years and I haven't left with with this trophy and so um it definitely I think leaves a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the year especially when I start with the lead you know granted it's not a huge lead but you're starting the tournament ahead of people like you should win the tournament if I'm starting ahead of people that's how I feel and so maybe the last couple years I put too much pressure myself to perform or whatever it is um but you know this year I did a good job of just staying in it mentally and keeping my head down and just had a really good week and was able to finish it off the right way of course of course I said of course go ahead D much as you talk about staying in the present can you keep your head down and still raise like a level of determination to get it done I think so you know I think uh I think last week was a good kind of relearning experience for me to just keep my head on straight you know last year I did not or last week my attitude was not great and that's the thing that's been my greatest strength this year has been my attitude and you know my whole team reminded me of that after the week and I was like listen guys I know I was not in a great mood last week wasn't in a good place and so this week really my goal to start the week was just to have the right attitude and use what I feel like as my best strength and that's my my mind and you know that's what Teddy reminded me of at the beginning of the week and that was really just the thing that I focused on the most was just staying in it mentally and uh it paid off