Rory McIlroy has battled some of the very best golfers in the world over his career but when it comes to a proper ‘rivalry’, we’ve never really seen that come to fruition.
McIlroy has had his battles. Indeed, in 2025, McIlroy is very much head to head with Scottie Scheffler in the war for supremacy as the top player in the world but even so, that’s not a rivalry as such.
Some would argue that Bryson DeChambeau is a rival given his move to LIV Golf and how things got heated between them at The Masters. However, given the difference in tours, we are unlikely to see much of that.
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That’s why, then, it feels like the golf world has missed out on what could have been one of golf’s great modern rivalries when it comes to McIlroy and three-time major winner, Jordan Spieth.
How golf fans have missed out on a great Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy rivalry
Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are two golfers who very much burst onto the scene and had success early in their careers.
Spieth had won three majors in just four seasons on the PGA Tour when he won The Open in 2017, while McIlroy was a four-time major winner by the age of 25 when he won the PGA and The Open in 2014.
At the time, with Spieth winning his first major in 2015, it looked like we could be on course to see two young studs go at it for a long time.
However, as things turned out, it just never happened. Spieth has yet to win another major since that success in ’15, while McIlroy has only just broken his own duck by winning The Masters in 2025 and finally completing a career grand slam.
Ultimately, over a decade-long period, many would have expected McIlroy and Spieth to end up butting heads and dominating proceedings. But over that time period, it’s just not worked out in the major championships.
Going into 2026, McIlroy and Spieth are still two of the star attractions on TOUR. However, the big difference is McIlroy has maintained his form and is still the world number two.
Spieth, meanwhile, continues to struggle for consistency and he is now approaching four years without even winning an event.
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What Jordan Spieth said about a Rory McIlroy rivalry
Naturally, when Spieth won The Masters in 2015 by four strokes, he was very much the talk of the town and with McIlroy being in the same boat in 2014, it was only normal that the media would talk up a clash.
At the time, Spieth did play things down when he was asked after his Augusta win.
“Yeah, I think it’s great. There’s an incredible amount of young talent. Guys are coming out and winning quickly, and a lot. We’re all very respectful of each other. We all root for each other. And it’s not like I’m out there with Patrick Reed saying I hope he misses his putt. It’s, I hope I make this, and I hope I make two in a row on top,” Spieth responded.
“That’s just kind of the mentality we all have as younger guys coming out now. More comfortable that junior golf tours, college golf, amateur golf, has grown and it’s gotten much better and that’s the reason you’re seeing it. I don’t think that it has anything to do with players being out or absent from tournaments. I think it has to do with a great overall preparation through these different tours now where you kind of almost play it like a PGA TOUR event the way it’s structured.”
Asked specifically on McIlroy’s form and if a rivalry could form, Spieth was complimentary towards the Northern Irishman.
“As far as with Rory, he’s got four majors. That’s something I can still only dream about; and just numerous wins. I’ll never hit it as far as he does and I have to make up for that somewhere else. He’s an unbelievably nice guy. Carries that World No.1 with class,” Spieth added.
“I don’t know, as far as a rivalry right now. Look forward to getting in the heat of the moment with him a couple times in the near future and see if we can battle it out and test our games.”
Nevertheless, it does feel like the PGA Tour has missed out on a great spectacle here and we can only hope that in the next few years, McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler get to go toe to toe more often.
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