Since May, Scottie Scheffler has completely dominated the PGA Tour season, and in the process, has made Rory McIlroy look distinctly average in comparison.
Scheffler and McIlroy played together during the first two rounds of the BMW Championship, where the American golfer outshone him in every aspect.
It is remarkable to think that the Northern Irishman has three PGA Tour wins this year – including The Masters and The Players Championship – and has completed the career Grand Slam, yet he will still miss out on Player of the Year honours.
On Sunday, the 29-year-old star achieved his fifth PGA Tour victory since May at the BMW Championship.
This year’s two major victories have made 2025 an outstanding season for the world number one.
While Scheffler keeps finding new levels to his game, McIlroy’s season seems to be losing steam. He withdrew from the FedEx St. Jude Championship two weeks ago and seemed completely off form throughout his time at Caves Valley.
Rory McIlroy made a comment during the FedEx Cup playoffs that Scottie Scheffler never would
McIlroy and Scheffler have different methods of practising and preparing for tournaments. Both work hard, but the American separates his on- and off-course time more effectively than McIlroy.
Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner has spoken about what separates these two top players, and he has pointed to one area in particular where Scheffler is certainly above McIlroy.
He said: “He certainly is better than everyone else right now. When you look at the skillset. He was third in driving accuracy, for a player who is not dinking it out there, he is going full throttle and has an extra gear when he wants it but he can hit that fairway finder.
“The iron play is incredibly elite and has always been elite. I think if you put him in an up-and-down scrambling contest, most PGA Tour players would take Scottie Scheffler, regardless of what the official stats say.
“You would trust Scottie Scheffler getting a ball up and down probably better than anybody else. And the putting thanks to Phil Kenyon over the last couple of years is remarkably improved.
“So you have all the skillset, but I think what stood out to me at the BMW and watching it over those four days. One of the things you can really admire about Scottie Scheffler is how prepared he is, each and every time he plays.”
Laver added: “Scottie never mails it in. Rory McIlroy we had not seen since The Open Championship and even he admitted that he had not done basically anything over the past couple of weeks.
“Scottie never says that. Scottie never does that. Scottie never is working on something and trying to find something, looking ahead to the following week.
“He shows up on the first tee and he’s ready to play. I think when you look at the playoff opener in Memphis, he could easily have skipped that event like Rory McIlroy did. He had nothing to gain at that point. He was not going to get passed by Sepp Straka, the number three, so he was going to lock down that number one spot for the BMW.
“He ended up finishing a shot out of the playoff. At the BMW he had the backup caddie, he was already the number one seed, he was already going to be banking another $5 million in bonus money. He hunts down a world-class player on an increasingly difficult course over the weekend.
“He said he was spent and tired but he was ready for the fight. It does not matter where Scottie is playing or what is going on in his personal life, his caddie’s personal life, any other outside distraction. He is always ready to go on Thursday morning.
“And I think that is why you see this mind-numbing consistency where he always finishes inside the top eight.
“That skill is so transferable throughout the course of the regular season and I think to me it’s one of Scottie’s most admirable qualities.“
Comparing the 2025 PGA Tour Seasons of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler
If someone had told you back in April, right after McIlroy’s win at the Masters, that Scheffler would end up running away with Player of the Year honours, you probably would not have believed them.
But here we are. And when you look at how both players have performed over the season, it is clear that there should not even be much debate about who has been better.
| Results | Scheffler | McIlroy |
| Events played | 18 | 15 |
| Major wins | 2 | 1 |
| Wins | 5 | 3 |
| Top-5s | 10 | 5 |
| Top-10s | 15 | 8 |
| Top-25s | 18 | 13 |
| Missed cuts | 0 | 1 |
| Money earned | $23,962,883 | $16,597,418 |
McIlroy has put together a strong season by any measure, but Scheffler’s level of play has simply been higher across the board.
With a seven-year age gap between them, McIlroy will need to find another gear if he wants to keep pace in 2026 and beyond.
And based on Lavner’s comments, it may not just be about his physical game – his mindset could be just as important.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
