Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are undoubtedly the two best golfers in the world right now but there is another man out there who is creeping towards their level.
Over the last two years and the last 12 months in particular, McIlroy and Scheffler have been dominant forces on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy won The Masters and two more PGA Tour events in 2025, while Scheffler won six times, including The Open, to continue his fine form.
With a few events for McIlroy still to play, he’s likely to add to those titles with the DP World Tour Championship as well.
| Rory McIlroy | Scottie Scheffler | |
| Events played | 16 | 20 |
| Cuts made | 15 | 20 |
| Wins | 3 | 6 |
| Top tens | 8 | 17 |
| Top 25s | 14 | 20 |
| Money earned | $16,992,418 | $27,659,550 |
However, as we head towards 2026 and another exciting year of golf, one man is showing signs he could be ready to challenge this duo.
And that man, is Xander Schauffele.
Xander Schauffele proving he can challenge Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy
Despite a topsy-turvy year which was disrupted by injuries, Xander Schauffele is still the world number four and right now, he’s showing just why.
At the Ryder Cup, Schauffele was a key man for Team USA, winning three points for his team, including the impressive 4&3 win over Jon Rahm in the singles.
Schauffele has continued to play though as he looks to find form ahead of 2026 and he’s been one of the big names in action over in Japan at the Baycurrent Classic this week.
The American has propelled himself into the picture as well, with Schauffele firing a superb second round 63 to put himself into the mix for the weekend.
This performance so far, coupled with his magnificent Ryder Cup effort, is showing everyone once again why he was world number three for so long.
And if he maintains this going into 2026, we could well have a three-way battle for supremacy on our hands.
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Xander Schauffele’s best finishes in 2025
The American is still awaiting his first win since winning The Open in 2024 but despite the injuries and troubles he’s had in 2025, he’s still had some good tournaments.
Notably, Schauffele finished T8 at The Masters and then followed that up with two top 20s in a row at the RBC Heritage and the Truist.
A T12 at the US Open was also very respectable, and after finishing T61 at the Travelers in June, he went on to finish the season strongly.
A run of T8, T7, T22, T28 and then his current position in T2 at the Baycurrent very much show Schauffele is getting back to his best.
If he can get it done in Japan, it would be a huge bonus but if not, all the signs are pointing to a positive 2026 for the two-time major champion.
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