Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy may not have finished in the top 10 at the BMW Championship, but neither player managed to keep themselves out of the headlines during their weeks at Colorado.
Scottie Scheffler found himself in the unfamiliar position of finishing over par and outside of the top 20 at Castle Pines – it was only the second time all year that the world number one has finished outside the top 20.
Rory McIlroy meanwhile, actually finished in a tie for 11th, but the Northern Irishman was never really a factor as the likes of Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott started their final rounds at the BMW Championship.
Instead, it will be outbursts of frustration which both Scheffler and McIlroy’s weeks in Castle Rock will largely be remembered for. Scheffler came in for criticism for venting his anger at caddie Ted Scott after one wayward shot on Friday, while McIlroy was pictured throwing his club after one tee shot.
Why Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy could not hide their anger at the BMW Championship
Meanwhile, the 35-year-old was annoyed on Sunday with McIlroy snapping his driver after almost finding the hazard on the ninth hole.
Of course, it has been a turbulent year for McIlroy, particularly since he missed out on winning the US Open at Pinehurst. Meanwhile, Scheffler is not used to missing targets this year, so it is understandable that they found the latest tournament so challenging.
And speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner suggested that the demands of the year simply pushed both McIlroy and Scheffler to the point where they could no longer hide their anger.
“I do think this is somewhat symptomatic of a long season that’s catching up to these guys. And I’ll go back to what Xander Schauffele said a couple of weeks ago where he saw Rory McIlroy playing alongside him at East Lake and he felt like he was absolutely gassed and he did not understand how a guy who’s essentially a couple of years older than he is was blowing past him, just so much fitter than him, had so much more energy, and Xander has taken it upon himself heading into this year to make sure that he is in prime position for East Lake, which it certainly feels like it’s going to,” he said.
“I think that’s going to play actually a big factor this week at The Tour Championship, we know it’s going to be insufferably hot, you know it’s going to take a lot of early week prep learning a brand new golf course essentially after the work Andrew Green has done on East Lake, I do think it’s somewhat concerning to see at least three of those players in the headspace that they are at the moment, heading into the season finale at the end of a very condensed stretch of golf with the majors, the signature events and the Olympics thrown in there as well.”
Contrasting years for the two major champions
Certainly, McIlroy appears to be someone who has been ready for the season to end for some time, with the scars from the US Open clearly not healed yet. There were bright signs upon his return at the Scottish Open several weeks later, but a missed cut at The Open and a poor finish at the St Jude Championship showed that McIlroy is still very much working through things.
Scheffler meanwhile, has been almost flawless all year, so it must have been baffling for him that he could not appear to grasp how to navigate his way through Castle Pines.
He has won so many big events, and he would have known that he was all but assured of starting The Tour Championship with a two-shot advantage. Given that he does not like to play the week before a bigger event, he probably had doubts about being involved at the BMW Championship – and that may have only added to the frustration when things started to go wrong.
Hopefully, the sight of the finishing line may help bring the best out of both players at East Lake.
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