Dame Laura Davies says who she thinks is the better golfer when both are at their best – Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler

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If Rory McIlroy really wants to be the main man in golf again, then overcoming Scottie Scheffler to win more often is going to be absolutely key.

McIlroy got his 2025 off to the perfect start as he won the AT&T at Pebble Beach with a fine display of golf.

McIlroy navigated tricky weather conditions and in the end, won by two shots ahead of his good friend Shane Lowry, who also played well at Pebble.

• READ MORE: The hole at Pebble Beach that Tiger Woods said has the ‘hardest third shot in all of golf’

Scheffler, meanwhile, wasn’t too far away as he finished in a tie for ninth on -15 in just his first even since suffering a hand injury over Christmas.

The world number one will no doubt be the man to beat when he’s back up to speed and speaking about Scheffler and McIlroy after his win at Pebble Beach, Dame Laura Davies had her say.

Rory McIlroy praised for how he played Pebble Beach

Interestingly, McIlroy said after round three he was trying to be more like Scheffler in terms of consistency and he did seem a lot calmer as he won.

And according to Sky Sports’ Dame Laura Davies, on his day, McIlroy is top dog.

“I think it was in his head. He did so well at the end of last season to win the DP World Tour Championship again and he is thinking well. He has had some time off. He played in Dubai. It’s just a general build up,” Davies said.

“He got out there and thought I am not going to overpower Pebble Beach, you can’t do that. That’s not the way to play it. He played strategic golf and clever golf. His wedges were really good this week. That was a massive help.

“You saw in the first round, he was spinning it too much and he made an adjustment to all the wedges and was hitting a lot of knock down shots and feel shots. It just shows that he has got every shot in the game. If he chooses to use that throughout the whole year he will almost be unstoppable. As good as Scottie Scheffler is, I still think on their day, if they both play their best, I think Rory is just a little bit better.”

Scottie Scheffler told to be golf’s next Tiger Woods

With golf going through a transitional period right now, there’s a chance for certain players to really make themselves superstars.

Indeed, that was something Davies spoke on as well, as she admitted the lure of being the main man with Tiger Woods out of the picture is a big motivation for the top players.

“That is a massive motivation. Tiger is now off the scene, he was always the bench mark, now Scottie Scheffler is. Scottie has got people chasing him. Well, Rory is the one, and Xander Schauffele took him as close as he could last year”, Davies continued.

“Rory likes the challenge and making some changes. When you are at the top of the game we always say be careful what you change, but his changes are not dramatic. They are not full swing changes. They are just little things here and there and that’s why I think he could take Scottie right to the limit this year.”

It will be interesting to see how both players go on through 2025. Scheffler and McIlroy will both play at the Genesis in a few weeks and at some point we’re bound to see a head to head.

If McIlroy can come out on top in that opening bout, then he might just usurp the American.