Most modern golf fans wouldn’t dare argue anyone other than Tiger Woods is the best golfer of all time.
Woods, a 15-time major winner and still the biggest draw on the PGA Tour, took golf to a whole new level in the early 2000s and that sort of hype and level of play hasn’t been seen since.
Scottie Scheffler is doing his best to be the new Tiger, in golfing terms anyway. And before Scheffler, a number of others have come and given it a good go, none more so than Northern Irish star, Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy has won four majors but hasn’t landed the Masters to complete the grand slam.
Indeed, McIlroy is behind good friend Brooks Koepka, who has five majors, having won the PGA three times and the US Open twice.
The duo are often regarded as two of the favourites the majors roll around.
But when asked which player – right now – has had the better career, popular YouTuber Rick Shiels has suggested that one holds the aces above the other when it comes to McIlroy and Koepka.
Rick Shiels says Brooks Koepka has had a better career than Rory McIlroy
Speaking on his Rick Shiels Golf Show podcast, the YouTube star was asked by his co-host Guy Charnock about who to quantify who has had a better career and if it solely relies on major wins.
And Shiels, speaking specifically about Koepka and McIlroy, believes the majors play a major role.
“I would, on stats, I would say he has. I think right now if you look at stats, has he had more major tournament wins now?,” Shiels said.
“What’s mad, I’m just looking here. Scottie Scheffler was tied second at the PGA and the year before was tied second at the US Open. He’s going to win more majors this year. Time will tell with Scottie Scheffler, if he goes on this year and dominates, there won’t be a question mark at all.
“But the question around maybe a Rory or a Brooks, the facts would say that Brooks has had a better career cos he’s won five major tournaments. You can’t measure it on money. When Rory started on tour, the purses were small than when Brooks started. And Rory’s had a longer career, so he’d have acquired more anyway. I don’t know what you base it on if it’s not majors.”
Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka stats on the PGA Tour show both are world class
As Shiels discusses here, this is a hard argument to have and everyone is likely to have a different opinion.
In terms of pure base-line stats, both players have different accolades to draw upon.
For McIlroy, in terms of actual tour wins, he has won 20 other PGA Tour events and another 13 on the European and Asia Tours. In there, he’s also been a part of five Ryder Cup winning teams in seven appearances.
Koepka, of course, has that one more major in the bag but has only won another four times on the PGA Tour and twice on the European Tour. That leaves him some way behind McIlroy, while his Ryder Cup record of two wins from four isn’t as good either.
LIV Golf has brought three more wins for Koepka, something McIlroy is unlikely to ever get.
On the whole, then, it’s anyone’s choice as to who is the top dog here.
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