Scottie Scheffler has opened up on something truly remarkable that happened to him when playing The Scottish Open alongside Rory McIlroy.
Scheffler and McIlroy are the best two golfers on the planet right now, there’s no debating that.
Bryson DeChambeau is playing some brilliant golf as well, but the Northern Irishman and the American are on another level all together.
McIlroy’s win at The Masters motivated Scheffler to practice even harder than he already was before.
And he got his just rewards with a convincing win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Sunday.
2025 is shaping up to be a sensational year of golf, with the top two golfers in the world rankings set for numerous head-to-head battles between now and the end of the season.
McIlroy and Scheffler are sixth and seventh respectively on the all-time PGA Tour win percentage list.
They have played alongside one another numerous times in the past, but something that happened back in 2021 when they were in the same group stuck in Scheffler’s mind as the weirdest thing that ever happened to him on a golf course.
Scottie Scheffler shares great story about tournament round with Rory McIlroy
Midway through the second round of the Scottish Open four years ago, something extremely strange happened on the 10th tee.
Scheffler was playing alongside McIlroy and Jon Rahm when a fan did something that took everyone by surprise.
The 28-year-old two-time Masters champion joined Grant Horvat for a match for the content creator’s YouTube channel, when he was asked what was the weirdest interaction he had every had on the golf course.
Scheffler said, “It didn’t happen to me, but I think I was playing with Rory at The Scottish. And this guy just walked up onto the tee box and just like, grabbed a club out of his bag like while we were playing, just grabbed it. It happened so fast, like Harry, Teddy and I were like, ‘what’? The security came up and he like handed it back to him, and they took him away. But he didn’t run off with it, it was like he was just getting ready to play.“
That’s quite incredible really isn’t it!
And here is a video of the incident in all its glory:
The part of Scheffler’s game that McIlroy really rates
Both players have their own very specific superpowers.
For Scheffler, his incredible iron play is unrivalled, whilst McIlroy’s prodigious driving ability is the envy of many a tour pro.
However, the thing about Scheffler’s game that McIlroy admires most is his ability to avoid mistakes.
The Masters champion said, “Yeah, I think when they’re playing with you it’s hard not to notice. Scottie does such a good job of – it doesn’t look like it’s 6-under par, and then at the end of the day it’s 6-under par. He’s just so efficient with everything.
“I made three bogeys today, which is fine out there in these conditions, but just need to tidy it up a little bit to try to keep up with him.“
In fairness to McIlroy, he has improved in that aspect this season, and he’s currently sixth in the bogey avoidance standings.
It’s no surprise that Scheffler is first in the rankings, but it would be no surprise if McIlroy continues to close the gap on his rival in that particular department.
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