Scottie Scheffler should be saying thank you to Rory McIlroy for two reasons after his Open Championship win

Add as preferred source on Google

Scottie Scheffler is on another level to Rory McIlroy right now, and the American has the Northern Irishman to thank for his fine form.

Scheffler is ranked as the world number one, with McIlroy sitting in second place on the list, and the gap between the two players is as big as the one between second place and 29th in the rankings.

The 29-year-old’s win at The Open cemented his place as the best golfer in the world, and it’s not even close right now in all honesty.

McIlroy lauded Scheffler after the American’s win at The Open, and it’s clear to see that he is in awe of his main competitor right now.

The good news for McIlroy is that Scheffler’s form will motivate him to work even harder now.

Perhaps the world number one has just returned the favour to his main rival.

McIlroy may well be the reason why we are seeing Scheffler dominate to such extraordinary levels right now.

Scottie Scheffler owes Rory McIlroy for two reasons after his Open win

Scheffler has been by far and away the dominant force in golf over the past 15 months or so.

And since the start of May, the four-time major champion has elevated his game to a whole new level entirely.

However, it wasn’t too long ago when the Dallas native was struggling to win on a consistent basis.

At the start of the 2024 season, Scheffler only had six PGA Tour wins to his name. I say ‘only’ because his ball-striking was exceptionally good, it was just his poor putting that held him back from complete and utter domination.

That’s where McIlroy came in to help out for the first time.

Back in February 2024 during The Genesis Invitational, the 36-year-old advised Scheffler to switch from a traditional blade putter to a mallet model.

McIlroy must be deeply regretting the advice he gave to Scheffler now.

The reigning Masters champion has helped create a monster, and his task of winning more majors has become a whole lot harder as a result.

However, the man from Holywood, Northern Ireland, did something else to help Scheffler achieve complete and utter dominance in the game.

Rory McIlroy’s Masters win kickstarted Scottie Scheffler’s season

Scheffler admitted himself that McIlroy winning The Masters gave him increased motivation to go out and work even harder on his game.

And boy, has he lived up to that over the past three months.

Since McIlroy’s victory at Augusta National, Scheffler has won four times – at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, The PGA Championship, The Memorial Tournament and of course, The Open Championship.

The American will almost certainly be named as the PGA Tour Player of the Year now, and that is quite remarkable given the fact that McIlroy has won a major, completed the Grand Slam and has victories at The Players Championship and a Signature Event to his name this season.

However, without McIlroy’s start to the 2025 season, there is every chance that Scheffler wouldn’t have won as many times as he has since the start of May.

Scheffler owes McIlroy two thank-yous after his incredible 2025 season so far. The scary thing for his rivals is that there are no signs of him slowing down.