Rory McIlroy is a legendary figure in the sport of golf. Last year, he became just the sixth man ever to complete the career grand slam when McIlroy won The Masters. Yet, even he can appreciate the level of golf Scottie Scheffler has been playing at.
So much so that McIlroy put Scheffler in the company with Tiger Woods, while excluding himself.
“Scottie just had his 17th top-10 in a row,” McIlroy said from this week's Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“You look at him last week. He shoots 2-over in the first round, and he just pieces it together again, finds a way, and has a chance on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy discussed the gap in talent between Scottie Scheffler and everyone else, "He's relentless and I'll never stop singing Scottie's praises because he's incredible." pic.twitter.com/QLKeYiHUYz
— Chris McKee (@mrmckee) February 11, 2026
“He's relentless. I'll never stop singing Scottie's praises… I have had nice runs like that, but they have always been a bit more up-and-down. I think anyone that wants to catch Scottie or get anywhere close is going to have to consistently sort of bring that game week in and week out like he does.
“He's really the first one since Tiger [Woods] that's doing this.”
The 5-time grand slam winner is not being overly generous.
Scheffler's statistics over the last three years stack up against Woods' prime years. Granted, Tiger's reign over golf was much longer, with 15 majors compared to Scheffler's four.
But the level of consistency is astounding.
During the 2024 PGA Tour season, the World No. 1 won eight times, including The Masters, The PLAYERS, The Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the Tour Championship. Oh, a Gold Medal was added in the Olympics.
Then in 2025, he picked up where he left off despite missing time after cutting his hand.
Scheffler won six more times, including two major titles (PGA Championship, The Open).
But it is all of the other tournaments that McIlroy is speaking to. The last time the Ridgewood, New Jersey native did not record a top-10 finish was a T-20 at last year's PLAYERS. That was 11 months ago. He has finished inside the top-10 in 41 of his last 47 tournaments, winning 16.
The Northern Irishman laid out what it will take for someone to catch him. But Scheffler is proving to be a once-in-a-generation player. There is no catching that. There is only waiting for it to pass.
