– Rory McIlroy has never stopped being in the top echelons of world golf over the last fifteen years. In addition to being the fifth player with the most weeks as World Number One, behind Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Dustin Johnson, and Scottie Scheffler, who recently surpassed him, the Northern Irishman has amassed hundreds and hundreds of weeks in the world top 3, top 5, and top 10. Since he first broke into the top ten at the end of 2009, he has barely dropped out for a couple of weeks to fall to Number 12…
– He has encountered an excellent Tiger, the best Mickelson, a great Ernie Els, a formidable Dustin Johnson, Koepka’s determination in the majors, faced the storms of Day or Spieth, the powerful emergence of Jon Rahm, and the precise strikes of Morikawa, DeChambeau, or Schauffele… In recent times, moreover, a wall has risen before him whose height and thickness have not been seen since the days of Woods. Scottie Scheffler, of course. And Rory decided that there might (and should) be a lesson to learn from this relentless champion, as he himself described it back in the day.
– “I’m just trying to follow his example a little. I admire Scottie for many reasons. When someone has a year like his in 2024, and even in 2023, you start paying attention to what he’s doing and what has made him stand out so much from the others,” said the recent winner at Pebble Beach yesterday. Indeed, he has been noting what aspects of Scheffler he could incorporate into his game and routines. And he has come to two conclusions…
– The first relates to the way of thinking on the course. Rory wants to transform into a player, let’s say, more boring. “Being more conservative sometimes in club selection from the tee and also choosing more conservative targets. Having that discipline. I admire Scheffler’s discipline on the course.”
– The second relates to improvement in the short game. Simply making it more consistent. Although Rory, in general terms, understands that his biggest challenge in improving is related to the mental aspect. “Being prepared to handle whatever comes up on the golf course, whatever the course, whatever the conditions. I think I’m better prepared in that regard now.”
– Rory sent a very specific message to Harry Diamond, his caddie and friend, walking down the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach, with victory already in the bag: “Start as you mean to go on.” Which is something like “start the way you want things to go.” He was referring, of course, to starting the year with a win, which is what you want to keep happening throughout the year, the season. “At this point in my career, what I really want is to win golf tournaments consistently,” the Holywood native points out. Is it a challenge for the world throne to the one who has precisely done that in recent years, Scheffler? Initially, he doesn’t openly acknowledge it, but the conclusion is clear: “if it happens that I get close to Number One, great, but this is simply about trying to bring out the best in me. That’s really it. I know that if I can play to my abilities and do what I did today a bit more, the world ranking or the wins or whatever will really take care of themselves. Scottie is and has been the best player in our game over the last few years. I feel like I’ve been close, but not quite there. But that’s motivating, it’s motivating to try to bring out the best in me and, yes, try to become the best player in the world again.” So, it’s not about that, but ultimately it is about that. As it should be.
– Shane Lowry, second alone behind Rory this Sunday, was asked about that new line of play, more conservative, that Rory wants to adopt… And Lowry was almost surprised. “I don’t think he’ll do that, today he hit a 6-iron from the bunker on the 6th hole… I approached Sepp (Straka, the third member of the star group) and said: look at the shot he’s trying to hit…”. In the end, what happens is that Rory McIlroy, no matter how conservative he wants to be, will continue hitting shots that are almost routine for him and not so much for the rest of us mortals.
– And in all this, how did Scheffler fare in his return to competition, after the domestic accident that delayed his start in 2025? Well, he ended up signing a 67 to reach ninth position. It might seem like little, considering he’s Number One. But there’s the other way of looking at it, which is probably the most accurate: in his less brilliant weeks, he still manages to finish inside the top ten.
– But let’s end with one last reflection on Rory, made yesterday by Lucas Glover. “I think Rory is getting better as he gets older, something not many can say. I think he’s an even better golfer now than he was a few years ago. Good for him, I know how hard he works because I see him, we live nearby.”
