Rory McIlroy claimed to have said something which Scottie Scheffler never would during the FedEx Cup playoffs

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Scottie Scheffler has completely turned the PGA Tour season on its head from May onwards and in the process, Rory McIlroy has been made to look distinctly average in comparison.

Scheffler played with McIlroy during the first two rounds of the BMW Championship, and he upstaged the Northern Irishman in every way.

It’s quite remarkable to think that McIlroy has won three PGA Tour events including The Masters and The Players Championship and has completed the Grand Slam, but will still lose out to Scheffler in the race for the Player of the Year.

The 29-year-old from Dallas, Texas, won his fifth PGA Tour title since May on Sunday at the BMW Championship.

With two majors to his name as well this year, 2025 has been a stellar season for the world number one.

While Scheffler has gone from strength to strength over the past few months, McIlroy’s season seems to be fizzling out somewhat.

McIlroy pulled out of the FedEx St. Jude Championship two weeks ago and he looked completely out of sorts at Caves Valley over the past four days.

Meanwhile, Scheffler was 100 per cent focused as soon as he stepped on the first tee on Thursday.

Rory McIlroy said something Scottie Scheffler never would during FedEx Cup playoffs

McIlroy and Scheffler have very different approaches to the way in which they practice and prepare for golf tournaments.

They both work incredibly hard on their games, obviously, but the American seems to be able to compartmentalise the different parts of his life better than the Northern Irishman can.

Ryan Lavner, a journalist for the Golf Channel, has been speaking about the differences between the two best players in the world.

And Lavner highlighted one area in particular where Scheffler is head and shoulders above McIlroy.

He said: “He certainly is better than everyone else right now. When you look at the skillset. He was third in driving accuracy, for a player who is not dinking it out there, he is going full throttle and has an extra gear when he wants it but he can hit that fairway finder.

“The iron play is incredibly elite and has always been elite. I think if you put him in an up and down scrambling contest, most PGA Tour players would take Scottie Scheffler, regardless of what the official stats say.

“You would trust Scottie Scheffler getting a ball up and down probably better than anybody else. And the putting thanks to Phil Kenyon over the last couple of years is remarkably improved.
So you have all the skillset but I think what stood out to me at the BMW and watching it over those four days. One of the things you can really admire about Scottie Scheffler is how prepared he is, each and every time he plays.

“Scottie never mails it in. Rory McIlroy we had not seen since The Open Championship and even he admitted that he had not done basically anything over the past couple of weeks. Scottie never says that. Scottie never does that. Scottie never is working on something and trying to find something, looking ahead to the following week.

“He shows up on the first tee and he’s ready to play. I think when you look at the playoff opener in Memphis, he could easily have skipped that event like Rory McIlroy did. He had nothing to gain at that point. He was not going to get passed by Sepp Straka, the number three, so he was going to lock down that number one spot for the BMW.

“He ended up finishing a shot out of the playoff. At the BMW he had the back-up caddie, he was already the number one seed, he was already going to be banking another $5 million in bonus money. He hunts down a world class player on an increasingly difficult course over the weekend.

“He said he was spent and tired but he was ready for the fight. It does not matter where Scottie is playing or what is going on in his personal life, his caddie’s personal life, any other outside distraction. He is always ready to go on Thursday morning.

“And I think that is why you see this mind numbing consistency where he always finishes inside the top eight.

“That skill is so transferable throughout the course of the regular season and I think to me it’s one of Scottie’s most admirable qualities.“

Rory McIlroy vs Scottie Scheffler: 2025 PGA Tour results compared

If someone would have told you after McIlroy’s Masters win in April that Scheffler would run away with the Player of the Year crown on the PGA Tour, you would have laughed in their face.

Well, that is very much a reality now, and when looking at the two golfers’ results this season, the best player on the PGA Tour should not even be a closely run contest.

McIlroy’s PGA Tour results this season have been mightily impressive, but Scheffler’s are on another level completely.

If the 36-year-old wants to compete with his rival who is seven years his junior in 2026 and beyond, he will have to make big improvements during the off-season.

And judging by Lavner’s comments, it may well be McIlroy’s mentality that needs addressing.