Rory McIlroy has transcended his rivalry with Bryson DeChambeau.
For years it was the best rivalry in golf. When DeChambeau snatched the 2024 US Open from McIlroy’s fingers in heartbreaking fashion, one of the greatest feuds in the sport’s history ensued.
DeChambeau teased McIlroy about his loss to his face, but McIlroy got one back by winning The Masters against him in the final pairing. It was game on between the pair, then, the Northern Irishman covered DeChambeau’s name with a European flag after winning the Ryder Cup.
All eyes then turned to the LIV Golf star to respond. At The Masters he missed the cut and McIlroy retained his Green Jacket. McIlroy now has six majors to DeChambeau’s two, and has played far better golf for over a year.
The PGA Tour has also vanquished LIV Golf as a worthy opposing tour, so there really isn’t much for McIlroy and DeChambeau to fight over. McIlroy has now set his sights on loftier goals, and his new rival is a much more daunting competitor.
Rory McIlroy’s biggest rival is now Scottie Scheffler
The 2026 Masters was the closest we have ever come to an out-and-out duel between Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy on the biggest stage. McIlroy fended off Scheffler’s charge down the stretch to earn his second Green Jacket, and it was electric.
Before The Masters, it seemed inevitable that Scheffler would surpass McIlroy in the annals of golfing history. Had he won instead of McIlroy, he’d have tied him in major wins, won three Masters to McIlroy’s two, and he’d be a US Open win away from the Career Grand Slam.
How many majors does Rory McIlroy finish his career with?
He's currently on six…
Instead, McIlroy tied Scheffler in Masters wins, and now has six majors to Scheffler’s four. He won his 30th PGA Tour event to Scheffler’s 20, and now he sets his sights on the double grand slam.
Scheffler is seven years younger than McIlroy and is expected to catch him. In 2014, who would have predicted McIlroy would have gone 11 years without a major? Who knows what Scheffler’s future has in store?
With LIV Golf beaten by the PGA Tour, the tour’s two biggest superstars can turn their attention to each other. They’re now set to lock horns and contest the title of best player alive. Scheffler holds that title for now, but the gap has narrowed.
With McIlroy back to his best, it’s well and truly game on.
Why a rivalry with Rory McIlroy is the best thing for Scottie Scheffler
In late 2025, Scheffler was in a class of his own. He’d won six times that year, including two majors, and was being compared only to prime Tiger Woods. That has since changed.
He’s been out of sorts so far in 2026, finishing outside of the top 20 in his two events leading up to The Masters. And while he was second at Augusta, the world number two beat him to the title.
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So for a man who was questioning what the point of his success was last year, he now has something to chase. And it’s no ghost from golf’s past. Scheffler’s new rival is staring him down from across the tee box.
Any indication of an unmotivated Scheffler should have evaporated into the Augusta air. He now has a point to prove, and expect him to make that point at the RBC Heritage.
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