Like the remainder of {the golfing} world, Rory McIlroy has adopted Scottie Scheffler reasonably intently.
It’s laborious to not, particularly after his historic 2024 season, by which Scheffler received 9 occasions general. A kind of victories got here at Augusta Nationwide, the one place that has prevented McIlroy from profitable the profession grand slam. Possibly McIlroy can overcome these demons this April.
To take action, McIlroy should restrict his errors, play extra conservatively, and guarantee his quick recreation is constant — three elements that helped him win this week’s AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am. He performed close to flawless golf on Sunday, waltzing round one in every of golf’s cathedrals with a 6-under 66 to win the twenty seventh title of his PGA Tour profession. But, McIlroy knew when he may very well be aggressive, as evidenced by his jaw-dropping tee shot on the 571-yard 14th gap. McIlroy hit a bomb over the eucalyptus timber on the nook and had solely a 7-iron in. He went on to make an eagle and finally completed two photographs forward of Shane Lowry, who, like McIlroy, made a hole-in-one throughout Thursday’s first spherical.
McIlroy additionally completed six forward of Scheffler however spoke extremely of the World No. 1 after his spherical. He defined how he has taken pages from Scheffler’s textbook, hoping to emulate his recreation and produce historic outcomes, too.
“I’m a giant admirer of Scottie for lots of various causes, however each time I play with him and I watch how he performs and the way disciplined he’s, it’s a extremely cool factor to observe,” McIlroy stated.
“It’s technique and selecting extra conservative targets at occasions, and possibly selecting extra conservative golf equipment off tees. Then I believe the large factor is clearly my quick recreation as properly. My quick recreation final 12 months was just a little up and down. I might have a great week, then I’d have a foul week. There wasn’t a ton of consistency in it. The up-and-down on 1, for instance, at present, it’s a giant up-and-down simply to get issues going. The up-and-down on 4, identical kind of factor.”
When trying on the stats, McIlroy’s quick recreation doesn’t bounce off the web page in a foul means per se. He ranked 59th in strokes gained placing and obtained up and down 64 % of the time, good for seventeenth on tour. However his tribulations on the greens on the U.S. Open and his failure to transform quite a few birdie alternatives all through the season instantly come to thoughts. McIlroy’s proper. His quick recreation has to change into extra dependable if he desires to change into the very best participant on the earth and break his now 11-year-long main championship drought.
“That is simply actually about attempting to get the very best out of myself. That’s actually it,” McIlroy stated.
“I do know if I can play to my capabilities and do what I did on the market [on Sunday at Pebble Beach] just a little bit extra, the world rankings or the wins or no matter will actually maintain themselves. Scottie is and has been the very best participant in our recreation for the final couple of years. I really feel like I’ve been shut however simply not fairly there. However that’s motivating, that’s motivating to attempt to get the very best out of myself and yeah, attempt to change into the very best participant on the earth once more.”
So how does McIlroy get the very best out of himself going ahead?
“Simply doing the suitable issues, doing the suitable issues on daily basis, being constant, being disciplined, getting sufficient sleep, consuming the suitable weight loss plan, doing the correct amount of apply, recovering, making time for different pursuits in my life that may get me away from golf just a little bit, too,” McIlroy defined additional.
“I believe simply all of that mixed. Purely from a golf perspective, simply doing the little issues proper each day, then that provides as much as some cool stuff.”
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.
