Scottie Scheffler was totally dominant on the PGA Tour throughout the 2026 season.
Scheffler only won three times, which may seem like a fairly underwhelming tally compared to his 2024 and 2025 seasons, when he racked up a combined 13 victories.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has only one win to his name in 2026, but that victory did come at The Masters.
Scottie Scheffler is the best golfer in the world by a long way, with Rory McIlroy in a distant second.
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McIlroy greatly admires Scheffler , and the feeling is very much mutual.
The American and the Northern Irishman are the two biggest stars on the PGA Tour , and indeed in professional golf in general.
However, Scheffler is still said to be chasing McIlroy in one particular department.
While making an appearance on the Indo Sport Podcast , renowned golf writer Alan Shipnuck explained how McIlroy has done something that Scheffler has not yet been able to match.
" Yeah, I mean, he had a chance at three of them, but he didn't get it done, " Shipnuck said.
" And, you know, that's what makes the majors so tantalising and important. It's a small sample size, and you just gotta do it.
" You know, it's an interesting thought exercise. Would Scottie trade his season for Rory's?
" I don't think he would. I think he values that week to week consistency, but if the roles were reversed, you know, Rory would take the Masters over everything else.
" Different players assign a different value to the majors.
" Certainly Scheffler cares deeply, but his north star is playing his best in every round of every tournament, and he really accomplished that this year.
" So I'm sure he would give himself an 'A' for the season, maybe not an 'A plus' because he didn't get it done at the majors, but you know, he's talked about the intensity that he brought to every round.
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" And so it's a little more ephemeral how Scottie judges his success and in some ways, this is his most impressive year, I think, because he could have just mailed it in.
" You know, in July, after the Open Championship, he ran through the tape like a champion.
" So it's a very impressive season, clearly, there's one gaping hole in the resume. Looking ahead to next year's major championships. The US Open at Pebble Beach, Open Championship at St. Andrews.
" You know, it's one of those years that aligns for some magic. So we'll see if Scottie can alter that narrative a little bit in 2027. "
" Yeah, there's this sense of inevitability around Scheffler, you know, especially here late in the season, " Shipnuck said.
" Statistically, he had one of the best seasons in the history of the PGA Tour, if you look at strokes gained, birdie percentage, and all the metrics.
" But, you know, he came into the playoffs with only one victory, and he knew that wasn't enough to really make it a standout season.
" He was playing with a kind of vengeance at the end of the year.
" Like, he wanted to sort of justify his entire existence, it felt like, because, you know, he got skunked at the majors.
" You know, clearly, he's the best player in the world, but Rory's put a little daylight between himself and Scottie with the back-to-back Masters, something that Scheffler's never done.
" You know, Rory has six majors to Scottie's four. Scheffler was creeping up very quickly on him.
" So, I think that we can all agree that Scottie's, you know, deservedly world number one, but in some ways, Rory's still that rabbit that the greyhound is chasing.
" I think Scheffler knew he had to make this a season that would not be deemed a disappointment. He had to win the FedEx Cup and he did it in high style. "
