Scottie Scheffler praises Rory McIlroy for what he’s really good at and says it’s exactly the same as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson

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Imagine being that good at golf that you get told you’re as good as both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in one aspect of the game.

Well, that’s exactly what Rory McIlroy has managed to accomplish and the praise has come from someone just as classy as those names in the form of world number one, Scottie Scheffler.

Many are hoping Scheffler and McIlroy will be going head to head over the weekend in what would be a dream scenario for the PGA Tour and The Masters in general.

However, for now, there’s time for some pleasantries and speaking to the media ahead of the big tee off, Scheffler has given McIlroy some high praise.

Scottie Scheffler compares Rory McIlroy to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson

Of course, as we know, in recent weeks, Rory McIlroy has spoken of what he’s tried to take from Scheffler’s game himself.

And when asked by the media what he would take from Rory’s game, Scheffler gave a classy answer as always.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to hit it 350 down the middle,” Scheffler laughed initially.

“I think when you look at a lot of the players out here on Tour, I think there’s a lot we can learn from each other. Like Rory, I feel like has always been someone who’s played really freely. All the times I’ve played with him, he swings it really hard off the tee, and I feel like he does a really good job of playing free and playing loose at times.

“I think there’s a lot that I can learn from a lot of the guys out here. That was one of the things that impressed me the most and inspired me a bit when I first came out is I felt like there was so much I could learn by watching people do things.

“Even though somebody may be ranked the best and doing this sort of certain thing, let’s say I’m the best iron player and Rory is the best driver, in golf I feel like there’s always somebody that’s a little bit better at doing something than you are that you can learn from.

“It’s easy to notice that. It’s very hard to enact that, if that makes sense. Rory, I always like how he plays freely. It’s real easy for me to notice that. It’s a lot harder to go out there and say, hey, I’m going to play freely, then actually do it. I think in golf a lot of times it’s easier said than done.”

“So when you look at the historically great players like guys like that have won major championships, guys like the Rory McIlroys and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelsons and all those guys, they were really good at noticing things they could improve at and actually being able to do it is really the thing that they were best at.”

Asked specifically if he feels McIlroy is his biggest rival and threat this week, Scheffler suggested anything could happen.

“I mean, golf is such a funny game, and I think on any given week there’s anybody that earns their way into a tournament has a good chance to win, and I think that the talent pool that we have in the game of golf is so deep right now that when you step on to the first tee it’s even par, and I feel like it’s anybody’s tournament. It’s one of our jobs to go out there and take it.”

• READ MORE: Xander Schauffele admits how he felt watching Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler play golf while he was out injured

Scottie Scheffler’s theory on Bryson DeChambeau and Jordan Spieth at The Masters

With Scheffler having two green jackets to his name and Jordan Spieth one, while the likes of Bryson DeChambeau are pushing for one as well, the world number one was asked why he feels all those names from Texas fare well at Augusta.

And once again, Scheffler provided reason for it, suggesting the tough conditions in Texas allow for plenty of practice.

“I wouldn’t say the Masters comes up too much in our general conversation. I think a lot of times when we go out and play — Jordan and I especially, we’re both pretty competitive guys. Not only do we have like a wolf game or something like that going in the group, but each of us probably have individual matches with everybody in the group, as well, just because we love to compete. That’s really fun for us at home,” Scheffler continued.

“The conversation doesn’t get too far outside of a little bit of smack talk and just cutting up with the guys.

“As far as a theory on why we play well, why Texans have had some success here at the Masters, I think growing up in Texas we play in a lot of different conditions and you learn from a young age to hit a lot of different types of shots because just we play in so many different types of weather and winds and stuff like that.

“I just think from a young age we’re challenged at home a lot just by the conditions, and I think it’s paid off at a tournament like this where the conditions can change significantly from year to year.”

Should Scheffler win this year, he’ll become the first player to win The Masters three times while world number one.