Scottie Scheffler leads the PGA Championship 2025 after impressive third round at Quail Hollow Golf Club in North Carolina
Q. Can you talk us through the 14th hole, and is that what you wanted to do, and if not, what did you want to do?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I mean, I was trying to hit a good hard draw 3-wood. I didn’t know if it was going to be enough to get to the green. I knew just front of the green was a good spot as well. Came off really nice, not a lot of spin. I didn’t know if it was going to be able to get there because the wind was off the left, and I hit a hard draw, and typically if you draw it against that wind, it’s going to take off a little bit of yardage.
Came out with a nice low spinning draw and hit it really solid and was fortunate to get up there on the green. From that distance, yes, I executed the shot. Did I execute it thinking I hit it two feet or whatever it was? I mean, there’s a little bit of luck involved in that when you’re at 300 yards, but overall, I executed the shot exactly how I wanted to.
Q. At one point you were were tied with Bryson and Rahm at the top and you fall behind and then this. Do you pay attention to that or are you just trying to make as many birdies as you can?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I was trying to post the best score that I could shoot today, and that’s what I was concerned with out there. There is a lot of leaderboards. So I think you see where guys are at at times, but it doesn’t have an effect on how I’m going to play or approach shots.
Q. How big are the two bounce-backs after the bogeys on the back nine to keep the momentum going?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: They are really important. I mean, especially after the bogey on 13, to respond the way I did on 14, it’s a really hard shot. That’s a hole where there’s going to be a variance in scores. It’s pretty big, depending how you hit that shot. I was fortunate to hit a good one there and make a nice eagle to give me some momentum going into the last few holes and took advantage of some more opportunities in the closing stretch.
Q. So much of winning majors is about being able to not compound mistakes and then avoid the big ones. Like you look at 17, hardest hole of the day and you hit a great shot; 18, tee shot in the divot and you hit another good iron shot. How do you describe your ability to stay calm in the chaos and not be overwhelmed by it?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: That’s a good question. I think I try to focus as much as I can on executing the shot, and there’s things out there that you can’t control. I can’t control what other guys are doing. I can’t control getting bad winds gusts. I can’t control how the ball is going to react when it hits the green. All I can do is try to hit the shot I’m trying to hit. That’s what I’m focused on out there.
Some days it works better than others. Today was a day down the stretch where it worked well and other days it doesn’t. At the end of the day, just proud of my fight the last three days and looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.
Q. Very simply put, how do you do it? How do you go from being three shots back to three shots clear of your nearest challenger?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I mean, I executed really well. Pretty much after hole 11 I feel like I hit a lot of really good shots. 13 I got a weird wind gust and then hit a poor bunker shot, but outside of that, I felt like I executed really well on back nine and hit the shots that I was trying to hit and was able to get some results from those.
Birdieing the last two was definitely two extra shots. I mean, I would assume those holes are playing over par, and so I definitely stole a couple shots there, and it was nice momentum towards the end of the round.
Q. You make it look all so easy. I wonder what, at the age of just 28, what would a third major title mean to you and your family?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It would mean a lot. You know, these tournaments are very important to us, and you work your whole life to have a chance to win major tournaments, any tournament for that matter, and tomorrow I have a good opportunity to go out there and try and win the golf tournament. But it’s going to take another really good round. There’s a lot of great players chasing me on the leaderboard and someone is going to put up a great round and it’s up to me to go out there and have another really good round and finish off the tournament. Looking forward to the challenge.
Q. Last couple of days, felt like scraping it around a little bit with the swing when you were talking to us. Anything that you found today with a feel or just a comfort?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I definitely felt like I hit it a lot better today. Definitely was in the fairway a lot, so definitely drove the ball better. Not much changed to be honest with you. I just found kind of the right sequence today and was seeing my shots really well. Did a good job of executing. Yesterday managed myself around the golf course to post a really good score and today just took advantage of some opportunities down the stretch to post a good number.
Q. On the Green Mile, hit a bunch of really good shots. Which one would you characterize as your best in that stretch?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: The iron shot I actually hit into 16 might have been the most challenging. I was kind of — with a back right pin, wind straight across going down, sometimes when you’re that high up, you almost want it to be helping or hurting. It’s really tough when it’s just dead straight across. I hit that iron shot really flush and I was actually on a little bit of a side slope too. I think that was probably one of the best shots I hit today. Just hit it pretty much exactly how I wanted to and give myself a good birdie look.
Q. You’re not someone that’s known for a lot of on-course emotions. Can you take us inside that moment on 18 and what led to your reaction after the putt went in?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Yeah, I typically don’t show much emotion. I don’t know how much I showed there. I don’t really think about what I’m doing.
I just felt like I hit two really good shots in there to get the ball into the hole, which is not an easy spot to put it there on the green. And was able to just take advantage of the opportunity, and I think that’s — wherever the emotion came from, you know, felt like an important part of the round to finish off the round the right way. Yeah, it’s good.
Q. The last three holes were playing so hard. Did you feel like — I guess, first of all, the one on 16 you’re describing, what was the number and club you had there?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I think I had 198 and I hit a 7-iron. It was a little down the hill and was maybe down six, only 192. I hit a 7-iron.
Q. Because they are playing so hard, do you expect that if you execute you’ll give yourself birdie chances or do those feel like bonuses?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Well, I think you have to execute really well to get a birdie look on those holes. You can hit two good shots and not end up with a good birdie look just based on how the wind is, and just how challenging the holes are.
But all I’m trying to do is focus on my execution out there and I was able to hit some good shots.
Q. You rank as one of the better putters in the world this season. Curious how much these last two or three years, how much work has gone in to get to this point where you’re so comfortable with it?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: It’s a lot of work in all aspects of the game. I’ve never been a guy that’s focused too hard on one singular aspect. There was times maybe throughout 2023 where I was arguably working too hard on my putting and putting too much pressure on myself to be perfect out there. I’m a pretty competitive guy and sometimes when I’m not succeeding at something, it makes me even more excited to kind of fix it.
But golf is not really a game where you can force things. If you are playing a sport like football or basketball, you can force things based on adrenaline or pushing people out of the way or whatever it is. Golf, I feel like it’s more letting the scores come to you, and you have to be a lot more patient I think in this sport than you do other ones, especially over the course of a 72-hole tournament.
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