Rory McIlroy won his second Players Championship title and former PGA Championship winner Rich Beem believes the Northern Irishman has got a bit more like Scottie Scheffler in doing so.
McIlroy spoke of his admiration for Scheffler ahead of the tournament at TPC Sawgrass and in the end, his quality shone through.
McIlroy saw off J.J. Spaun over a three hole playoff to become the first European to win the tournament twice and in doing so, write his name into the history books.
Of course, McIlroy is now in a similar position to which Scottie Scheffler was in during 2024 and according to Rich Beem, McIlroy is now showing similar traits to the world number one.
Rory McIlroy told why he’s following Scottie Scheffler after winning The Players
Rory McIlroy is very rarely not in contention at some point in the big tournaments but over the years, he’s let big chances slip him by.
However, after seeing Scheffler dominate through patience and consistency in 2024, Rich Beem now believes McIlroy has watched the American and taken that into his own game.
“I think if you are as talented as he is you can go ahead and take some chances now and again. Sometimes you might hit the ball and it flays out but sometimes you are going to go around and lap everybody,” Beem said.
“That was kind of what we saw at Quail Hollow when he was up against Xander Schauffele in the final round and all of a sudden he birdies nine out of 10 holes and put everybody in his rear view mirror. That’s what makes him so good and why he can win every year.
“But also when he doesn’t quite get it right, he goes after every single shot he thinks he can hit. He never backs off. Never does any of that. That is something he talked about in the off season. Learning from Scottie Scheffler. Saying listen maybe I don’t have to go after everything. I can still win without having to be great every single day but that is what the difference is between what he has tried to do in the past and what he’s trying to do going forward.
“He hasn’t had his best stuff, has made a couple of sloppy mistakes, but usually in the past he hasn’t been so fortuitous. On Friday he missed his second shot in that little dell, last place you want to miss it, and he chips it in. He has had some really fortuitous things go his way, but that is almost exactly like what Scottie Scheffler has had as well.
“As soon as he is out of position he pulls a chip out of nowhere. I just think Rory is taking a little bit of a different look at how efficient he can be out here. He is always going to go for whatever he thinks he believes, but he is also going to try and back off when he is just not 100% sure or 100% confident he can pull it off.”
How Rory McIlroy’s practice paid off at TPC Sawgrass
If there’s one thing Rory McIlroy does have now, it’s experience, and that showed a lot in his clash with Spaun earlier today.
Indeed, that goes all the way back to practicing and preparing for the playoff.
McIlroy was spotted hitting shots on the range and effectively planning for all eventualities which, in the end, seemed to pay off.
“I was warming up with the Trackman this morning and tried to hit a few shots with the same wind direction on the range. I knew it was the same distance as yesterday and had that three quarter nine-iron dialled in. Once we got up there I knew what to do and made a good swing,” McIlroy commented after winning.
With The Masters to come and that career grand slam once again up for grabs, McIlroy will be hoping his start to 2025 is a sign of things to come.
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