Rex Hoggard suggests what he hates hearing about Scottie Scheffler as he says Rory McIlroy is ‘clearly at another level’

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The Texas Children’s Houston Open is going to be a fascinating appetiser ahead of the Masters, with Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler the two standout names in the field at Memorial Park.

While both players will probably say otherwise, it is hard to imagine that either Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler will not have one eye on getting their games ready for Augusta National in the coming days.

And, as things stand, it would appear that McIlroy is likely to be the favourite for the first major of the year. The Northern Irishman has won on the PGA Tour twice before April for the first time in his career, having won both the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players Championship.

And with McIlroy adding shots to his game to prepare for the Masters, it really does appear that the 35-year-old has attempted to build the start of his season around peaking at the perfect time.

The frustrating narrative surrounding Scottie Scheffler ahead of the Masters

What would appear to help McIlroy is that Scheffler is yet to open his account. The world number one has not come close to hitting the heights of 2024 so far. And it has been striking just how little time Scheffler appears to have spent in genuine contention on the PGA Tour.

Some think Scheffler is having an incredibly poor season by his standards. However, others clearly think that some of the criticism has gone way over the top, with the 28-year-old yet to finish outside the top 25 so far this year.

Speaking on Golf Channel, Rex Hoggard insisted, that while McIlroy is out in front ahead of the Masters, suggestions that Scheffler is playing poorly are way off the mark.

“If you just looked at the blind resumes, if I just showed you the players this season, this is what they’ve done, I think we would say Rory should be the clear favourite. You look at what he did at Pebble Beach, he beat a world-class field on a really difficult golf course in tough conditions. Look at the Players Championship, world-class field, tough conditions, really difficult golf course. Keep going on and on,” he said.

“Scottie Scheffler has had a good season. I hate the narrative that somehow he’s struggling. We’re going to get into his stats in a little bit. It’s degrees, it’s one percent here and there, the difference for him this season. But Rory’s clearly at another level.”

How Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler have compared on the PGA Tour in 2025

Interestingly, there is not a lot to pick between the two when it comes to their strokes gained numbers at the start of the season.

Unsurprisingly, McIlroy has the edge overall. But Scheffler is actually leading the four-time major champion in a couple of categories.

And it is Scheffler who has victories at Augusta National under his belt. In fact, Scheffler is looking to win for a third time in four years in the next few weeks. That experience of getting over the line feels particularly significant given the issues McIlroy has had closing out a major championship over the last decade.

McIlroy has definitely got the momentum right now. But it should come as a surprise to no-one if Scheffler suddenly finds that extra gear on the drive down Magnolia Lane.