Scottie Scheffler shares what he noticed about Rory McIlroy while playing with him during the first two days at The Players Championship

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There was no question which was the marquee group over the first two days at the Players Championship with Rory McIlroy playing alongside Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele at TPC Sawgrass.

Of course, it was Scottie Scheffler who was looking to make more history this past week at the Players Championship. The world number one became the first player ever to retain the title in 2024. And a victory at TPC Sawgrass would have moved him alongside Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winners.

But coming down the stretch on Sunday, it was Rory McIlroy who found himself in contention. Xander Schauffele finished last of those who made the cut as he posted an 81 on Sunday. Meanwhile, Scheffler left himself with too much to do heading into the final round.

At one stage down the back nine on Sunday, McIlroy boasted a three-shot lead. However, a late fightback from overnight leader J.J. Spaun ensured that the pair will need a three-hole playoff on Monday to decide the 2025 winner.

Scottie Scheffler comments on Rory McIlroy as the Players Championship heads for a playoff

Obviously, whatever happens, McIlroy has made another statement having won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year. He has a lot of momentum heading into the first major of the year at the Masters.

And speaking as it appeared as if McIlroy was going to win, Scheffler explained what he saw over the first two days which really managed to impress him.

“Well, I think he’s okay at golf. I thought he was playing really solid. Didn’t make many mistakes. He kept a pretty clean card. He holed some nice putts,” he said.

“Definitely was playing well enough to have a chance to win, so I definitely wasn’t surprised after the first two days that he was still hanging around the top of the leaderboard. We’ll see how it shakes out the last few holes, but he looks like he’s got himself a great chance and he’s going to be tough to beat coming down the stretch.”

Scheffler frustrated as further history evades him at Sawgrass

Scheffler meanwhile, is still looking to rediscover his best form. Any other player would probably be content with the start to the year he has made, particularly after sustaining a hand injury over Christmas.

However, Scheffler is in another category to almost anyone else in the game right now. So it is a little concerning that he is still waiting for that first victory of 2025.

Scheffler did look frustrated at times at Sawgrass. And he expressed some disappointment at not being able to come closer to securing a third victory at the event.

“Yeah, obviously being able to repeat here was very special and I would have liked to have done it a third time. At the end of the day, I just didn’t have what it took this week. The guys that are ahead of me on the leaderboard, there’s many of them, so they obviously played better than I did. But yeah, it’s cool going into the locker room, turning left, going to the champions side, and I have a lot of great memories here from both my wins. Yeah, definitely a lot of good memories,” he said.

The question over Scheffler is whether he will be able to find that next gear again. His rivals will be a little worried that he is still finding himself in the top 20 on a consistent basis while seemingly well short of his best.