Tiger Woods has shared something interesting he’s noticed about Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler after watching them on the range at Valhalla.
This week, the PGA Championship returns to the Louisville venue for the first time in ten years. Valhalla was the scene of McIlroy’s last major victory in 2014, and the Northern Irishman is in fine form ahead of this year’s renewal.
Four-time major winner McIlroy is coming off a dominant victory at the Wells Fargo Championship and stands every chance of ending his long wait for another PGA Championship.
Scheffler is also well-fancied after his win at The Masters in April. The prospect of watching the American and McIlroy going head-to-head should get any golf fan’s pulse racing.
Tiger Woods takes a look at Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler on the range
Speaking to the media ahead of his first round on Thursday, Woods was asked about what he’s made of the pair’s form in 2024.
The 15-time major winner highlighted that Scheffler and McIlroy strike the ball very differently and rarely miss the middle of the club face.
He explained in his press conference: “Obviously, with Scottie, what he does through the golf ball and with his footwork. Or you have Rory, who arguably has the best finish of a swing in golf. It looks like a statue, right? They’re two totally different players.
“The commonality, I think, is the focus. When you’re on the range, watching them hit golf balls or, more so, listening to them hit golf balls, There’s a different sound to it because they don’t miss the middle of the face.”
Woods went on to suggest that Scheffler’s ability to hit green after green sets him apart at the moment.
He added: “Obviously, Scottie’s not as long as Rory, and he probably can’t separate himself on a golf course like that with pure length, but his ball striking and the amount of greens he hits, he just wears you out that way.
“And then he has an amazing pair of hands around the greens If he putts awful, then he finishes in top ten, he putts decent he wins, he putts great, he runs away. He’s just that good a ball striker.”
Who can compete with Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler this week?
It’s hard to look past the two in-form PGA Tour stars at Valhalla. When at their best, there are very few who can hang on to their coattails.
Perhaps Brooks Koepka poses the biggest threat from the LIV Golf contingent, but there are still doubts over just how competitive the breakaway league is.
Xander Schauffele is another PGA Tour player whose game could see him in contention. Still, serious questions remain over the American’s temperament in the critical moments after his final-round capitulation at Quail Hollow.
The golfing world will learn a lot more after Thursday’s first round has taken place, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some big names gather at the top of the leaderboard relatively early into proceedings.
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