Rory McIlroy’s relationship with bad scores and shots is age-old. For instance, think about his latest outburst at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After hitting his ball into the rough on the 18th hole during the first round, he loudly shouted, “F— off.” His score? T15, his second-worst this year after The Genesis Invitational (T17). Clearly, he is frustrated with The Masters as close as ever.

McIlroy tries not to think about it, but he finds similarities between Scottie Scheffler and himself here. Similarly, to him, Scheffler lost his cool at the WM Phoenix Open after a bad shot. However, according to Rory McIlroy, this is where the comparisons between them end. His main argument? Bad shots continue to affect him even after leaving the course, while Scheffler does not seem to feel the same way. The pressure is increasing on the World No. 2, and he discussed it during The PLAYERS Championship.

McIlroy said, “I struggled at times where I shoot a bad score and feel like I am a bad person. I shoot a good score and I feel like a good person. I think more than any other sport, it’s very hard to separate the two sides of it. And I think Scottie does a really good job at that.” This came after McIlroy, for the first time in his career, took home two wins before The Masters, including The PLAYERS. Despite being in better form than Scheffler, whose best finish came at The Genesis Invitational (T3), he does not seem to impress Golf Channel reporters.

Bringing up McIlroy’s point about feeling like a bad person after a bad shot, Rich said, “Rory, you’ve no idea. I mean, come on, Rory, what are you talking about? Bad scores, bad person. He has no idea what it’s like to play lousy.”

However, his partner does not seem to think the same. He replies, “If he makes mistakes when he is saying things which he has done publicly throughout his career, you can make a restatement. But when you hit a bad golf shot, the mistake that Scheffler rarely makes, but Rory makes on a fairly consistent basis, it’s hard to get that shot back, and Scottie hasn’t made the mistakes in his career.”

This also has to do with their attitudes on the greens. Scheffler has often talked about the distance he maintains between his sport and his personal life. According to a statement by Scheffler from 2024, he said part of the reason he is able to maintain distance between both is because of his family. He added, “Golf is just something that I do; it’s not my life.” Undoubtedly, his family makes it easier for him to forget about golf.

On the other hand, McIlroy has always looked for a proper work-life balance. In the latest Full Swing season, he admitted that he struggled between “trying to be the best golfer” and the “best” family man. A struggle that seemed to continue even during The PLAYERS. With this conversation gaining traction, let’s make a quick comparison between the two star-studded golfers.

Rory McIlroy is good, but is he as good as Scottie Scheffler?

Of course, when you sit down to compare Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, you have to be careful about their age difference as well. Comparing 35-year-old McIlroy with 28-year-old Scheffler seems unjustifiable, so we will have a look at McIlroy’s records before he turned 29. McIlroy had twenty-two wins, including 14 on the PGA Tour. And what about Scottie Scheffler, you ask? Well, Scheffler is following close behind with his 13 wins. And how about the majors?

Similar to the previous record, Rory McIlroy takes home the win. He has 4 major wins compared to Scheffler’s 2. But, hey, that can change this year! Of course, when you look at these stats, you cannot help but think that Rory McIlroy is doing it much better than Scheffler. Looking at this, you will nod your head at Rory McIlroy’s words: “I’m obviously playing well. I want to keep playing well.” But, hold on! Because Scottie Scheffler has his solid points as well.

Let’s start from the 2021-2022 season, the time Scottie Scheffler started playing well. Since then, Scheffler has made 72 starts with 13 wins. When you compare it to McIlroy’s, it looks huge. McIlroy has made 57 starts since then and won 9 wins. Again, when it comes to top-3 finishes, Scheffler wins with his 29 against Rory McIlroy’s 17. But hey, how about the top-10s? Folks, it’s Scottie Scheffler’s 46, against Rory McIlroy’s 32.

But, regardless of the stats, both of them are amazing players. Besides their scores, their attitude matters as well. And we have seen both of them lose their cool. But with them playing again, who do you think will break first?