The one part of Rory McIlroy’s game which is historically worse than Scottie Scheffler’s and has been costing him four shots per tournament

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Rory McIlroy was at his brilliant best as he clinched his 27th PGA Tour title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Starting the final round in a tie for the lead, there was a sense of inevitability about what was going to ensue on the Monterey Peninsula. The four-time major winner cruised into a lead, and his eagle on the daunting par-five 14th was the final nail in the coffin for the chasing pack.

McIlroy was a relaxed figure walking down the 18th, and the signs are certainly promising for the Northern Irishman ahead of The Players Championship and Masters Tournament at Augusta National.

Another positive for McIlroy was the six-shot margin between himself and world number one Scottie Scheffler.

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler’s approach play compared

Scheffler, making his first PGA Tour start of 2025, was slightly rusty. Nevertheless, the world number one still ranked first in strokes gained with his approach shots.

And Golf Channel pundit Ryan Lavner believes it’s an area McIlroy must improve if he’s to challenge Scheffler consistently.

“This should be validation that he is working on the right things in his game. When you look at what is the biggest separator between Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler it is clearly not driving,” Lavner said.

“Rory McIlroy is the most awe-inspiring driver in the game. He might not be as straight down the pipe as Scottie Scheffler, but it’s not driving. It’s not putting; Rory McIlroy is a better putter. Rory McIlroy has a very underrated short game; I think we saw him going eight for eight in scrambling in very poor conditions on Saturday. The two things are iron play and course management, the primary focus that Rory has focused on was iron play.

“Rory was 52nd on the PGA Tour last year in strokes gained approach. For context, Scottie Scheffler was one shot per round better than Rory with his irons. That’s four shots over the course of a tournament. That’s a ton. So Rory has moved to make his golf swing more efficient to tighten that up.”

• READ MORE: What Rory McIlroy told his caddy on the final hole just before he won the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Rory McIlroy’s approach play stats

The stats from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am back up Lavner’s point on McIlroy’s approach play.

The Northern Irishman gained 3.3 strokes with his approach shots, which saw him rank 17th in the field and over three shots behind Scheffler. Thankfully, McIlroy’s driving and putting saw him pull clear of the world number one, but once Scheffer regains sharpness, the Northern Irishman’s approach play could hold him back.

Elsewhere, McIlroy ranked seventh for strokes gained putting and first in driving distance. McIlroy’s longest drive at Pebble was a staggering 375 yards.