Why Scottie Scheffler needs to be more worried than Rory McIlroy after what happened on day three at the Genesis Invitational

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In one of the more surprising moments on the PGA Tour so far in 2025, Scottie Scheffler fell away from being the main man in contention to win at The Genesis after a nightmare third round.

Scheffler’s four over par third round meant he tumbled down the leaderboard and goes into the final round some five shots off the leaders.

Uncharacteristic mistakes, including Scheffler bogeying two par fives on the opening nine and then double bogeying the par four 14th, meant the world number one shocked everyone.

• READ MORE: Johnson Wagner thinks Scottie Scheffler actually proved his greatness during the third round of Genesis Invitational

Of course, Scheffler wasn’t alone in his struggles as Rory McIlroy also failed to capitalise on a good opening few days as he shot a two over which included a double bogey on the 16th.

However, while McIlroy and Scheffler disappointed in the main, there appears to be more cause for concern for Scheffler than McIlroy right now.

Scottie Scheffler’s Genesis form more worrying than Rory McIlroy

It might seem strange to be saying, but we are so used to seeing Scottie Scheffler being so good across all aspects of his game that to see him struggle like he did in round three at Torrey Pines was eye-catching.

Scheffler struggled off the tee, then his iron play was nowhere near his usual level, before struggling on the greens at times.

Sure, Scheffler scrambled well and played some nice short-game shots. But as Rich Beem highlighted on Scheffler before the round, he seemed to be relying too much on those short-game skills.

McIlroy, meanwhile, was actually pretty solid in his game throughout. Indeed, if it wasn’t for a stone cold putter, McIlroy would have been far better placed. In fact, such was McIlroy’s performance with the flat stick, that it was actually his worst performance since 2014.

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy’s round three performance in numbers

To say it was disappointing to see two of the world’s top three struggle is an understatement. However, the numbers do not like.

Scheffler shot a 76 – his worst round in nearly three years – while McIlroy’s 74 didn’t seem too bad given he didn’t make a putt.

In the end, the numbers don’t lie and Scheffler and McIlroy lost ground to the field in nearly all categories.

As can be seen in the stats, it is Scheffler who has more cause for alarm than McIlroy right now.

Things can quickly turn in golf though and the world number one will be hoping that is the case in round four.