Few would have believed it had they been told before the start of the year that Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler would have registered just one win each heading into the final event before the US Open.
It appeared even more likely that the two best players in the world would continue to dominate after Scheffler won on his first start of the year at The American Express.
However, the 29-year-old has not quite managed to find his best form. Despite finishing in the top three on six occasions, Scheffler has often looked surprisingly rusty.
Why Rory McIlroy may have contributed to Scottie Scheffler’s frustration
His form culminated in Scheffler failing to hide his frustration during Thursday’s opening round at the Memorial Tournament.
The world number one was particularly annoyed after finding the water on the par three 16th at Muirfield Village. He spent several minutes expressing his disbelief at the wind direction, with Ted Scott clearly deciding that it was best to say nothing.
It has been strange to see Scheffler come so close to winning several times while also looking extremely rusty. Of course, it is easy to look rusty after dominating the game over the previous four years.
And speaking on Dan on Golf, journalist Alan Shipnuck suggested the reasons behind Scheffler’s slump, including the impact of Rory McIlroy‘s recent Masters triumph.
“He’s turning 69s into 72s, and that’s the difference between finishing second and third and winning. He is just having one mediocre round per tournament, and the standard beneath him is so high that even Scottie can’t afford to do that at the biggest tournaments with the best players and the best fields,” he said.
“He just had a second kid, that is a monumental shift in a person’s life. We can give him a few months to adjust. I don’t think the Scottie year is over, but he has about six weeks to make it a great year. And if he wins at Shinnecock, or he wins at Birkdale, then all is forgiven, and the run continues.
“Rory’s done a little bit to separate himself from Scottie. Scottie’s never won back to back Masters. Scottie’s never won the Career Grand Slam, not yet.
“Scheffler was knocking on the door of tying Rory for the all time career major championships. Now there’s a little daylight there, six to four. So, Rory has responded to Scottie, and he’s talked about how it’s motivated him, and it’s made him address some of his weaknesses.
“I’m not saying Rory’s gotten in Scottie’s head, but I think these guys are so hyper competitive, and I think that’s part of his frustration. Scottie had owned the sport, and now Rory’s kind of wrestled it back a little bit, and I think that he cared. Scottie cares deeply. He burns to dominate. It’s very subtle, but it’s there. There’s a lot of reasons for his frustration, but he has a month and a half to kind of change the whole narrative.”
Scottie Scheffler does not need to worry about Rory McIlroy’s recent major wins
Scheffler certainly does not need to panic when it comes to any rivalry with McIlroy.
The pair both won their first four majors in a short space of time in the early stages of their career at the very highest level.
McIlroy won his four between the 2011 US Open and the 2014 PGA Championship. Meanwhile, Scheffler took a very similar amount of time once he won the 2022 Masters.
Crucially, McIlroy then went more than a decade before winning another. It would be a huge shock if Scheffler had to wait anywhere near as long for his fifth major title.
