Scheffler vs McIlroy: It's Not A Gap... It's A Vast Chasm

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy on a head-to-head poster with the term 'vs' between them to highlight the purpose of this comparison analysis into their world ranking position and the gap between them at present — Just one position separates them in the Official World Golf Rankings, but just how wide is that gap between Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy? (Image credit: Getty Images)

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have dominated the men's professional game for a number of years, combining for an impressive 49 PGA Tour wins and nine Major Championships in their illustrious careers so far.

After Rory secured the Career Grand Slam at the Masters last year, Scottie moved to within one of the same achievement thanks to wins at the Open Championship and PGA Championship - so it's clear that both players had outstanding seasons.

It's Not A Gap... It's A Vast Chasm

I started my analysis by selecting a data set. It made sense to focus on the last full season of data, from the 2025 PGA Tour season, as both players competed in a full schedule of events.

In 2025, Scheffler played 20 events on the PGA Tour, while McIlroy played 16. Scheffler pipped McIlroy by one in terms of the number of cuts made, with Scottie maintaining a 100% record (20/20) while McIlroy missed just one at the RBC Canadian Open.

Rory McIlroy managed three wins and one runner-up finish in that season, three less than Scottie Scheffler who secured six PGA Tour titles.

It's important to note that McIlroy also won a DP World Tour event in the 2025 season, as well as banking another runner-up finish.

Back on the PGA Tour, there were 8 top-10 finishes for Rory, and an impressive 17 for Scottie, which already starts to highlight what appears to be a reasonable gulf between the two stars.

Scottie Scheffler placing the Green Jacket onto Rory McIlroy as the Northern Irishman completes the Career Grand Slam — McIlroy completed the Career Grand Slam by winning The Masters in 2025, and was presented the Green Jacket by the man many believe will be next in line to complete that same achievement

Official World Golf Rankings

Scottie Scheffler currently holds a dominant lead over McIlroy, with the four-time Major winner around 286 points ahead (or an approximate 8-point tournament average).

To put that into context, the same gap that exists between Scheffler and McIlroy (in terms of average points) also exists between McIlroy (No.2) and Kyungnam Kang (No.677).

It would be impossible for McIlroy to takeover Scheffler with one or two big wins, due to the way the OWGR uses a 2-year rolling average, so the Northern Irishman would need one or more of the following to happen:

Win two or three majors in one season while Scheffler struggles to bank top-10 finishes
Stack multiple wins in quick succession to take advantage of bonus ranking points
An unprecedented drop in form for Scottie Scheffler with multiple missed cuts while McIlroy continues to win on the PGA Tour

Statistical Comparison

Scottie Scheffler led the PGA Tour in 28 different statistical categories in the 2025 season, whereas McIlroy led the tour in just one (putting from 15 to 20 feet).

If we directly compare their performances in the six main Strokes Gained measures, the seperation between the two becomes even more apparent.

Below is a table comparing their performance in SG: Total, SG: Off The Tee, SG: Tee To Green, SG: Approach, SG: Around The Green and SG: Putting for the 2025 season...

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Row 0 - Cell 0	Scottie Scheffler	Rory McIlroy
SG: Total	1st	3rd
SG: Off The Tee	2nd	4th
SG: Tee To Green	1st	11th
SG: Approach	1st	68th
SG: Around The Green	16th	57th
SG: Putting	22nd	9th

Scheffler outranked McIlroy in five of the six main Strokes Gained measures, and by some way in the case of SG: Approach and SG: Around The Green, while McIlroy came out on top on the greens.

This is an area that the American had struggled with in the past, but after Scheffler's switch to a mallet-style putter his fortunes improved - which is ominous for the rest of the PGA Tour.

McIlroy does outrank Scheffler considerably in terms of driving distance, ranking 2nd and 44th respectively in 2025, however, so far this season, Scheffler ranks 9th on the PGA Tour for driving distance highlighting progress in this area.

Scheffler (59%) is also far more accurate than McIlroy (51%) with around 118 places separating them in the rankings in this category.

Greens in regulation (11th vs 76th) and birdie average (2nd vs 21st) also go to Scheffler, painting a picture of sheer unrelenting dominance for the 2025 Champion Golfer of the Year.

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler shaking hands on the green after the conclusion of their singles match at the 2025 Ryder Cup — Scottie Scheffler even got the better of McIlroy in their Sunday singles match at the 2025 Ryder Cup

Prize Money

It's worth pointing out here that I am just focusing on the PGA Tour schedule in 2025, so I therefore haven't included the prize money winnings from Rory McIlroy's DP World Tour wins.

In 2025, Scheffler accumulated $27.6 million in prize money, which was just under $2 million down on his total in the 2024 season.

Scottie's caddie Ted Scott could actually have earned more than the average PGA Tour player in 2025, highlighting the vast (and perhaps ludicrous) wealth that the World No.1 was able to amass in just one calendar year.

Rory McIlroy collected $16.9 million in prize money, which was the most financially lucrative season in his PGA Tour career so far, despite receiving around $10 million less than Scheffler in 2025.

McIlroy still ranks one place above Scheffler in the PGA Tour all-time career money list, sitting second with $107 million in comparison to Scottie's third-place entry with $101 million.

If this trend of exorbitant earnings continues for Scheffler, however, I'd expect him to overtake McIlroy and even No.1 rank Tiger Woods within a season or two.

The Verdict

There is no doubting the generational talent of both players, or their importance as focal points of the men's professional game, however the reality is that the comparison between the two does not merely reveal a gap... it outlines a vast chasm.

Scheffler not only dominated the PGA Tour in 2025, but by extension also dominated Rory McIlroy - and with an early PGA Tour win under his belt it's hard to see how that is going to change any time soon.

Scheffler has the chance to claim his own Career Grand Slam this season, if he can claim the US Open trophy at Shinnecock Hills, so I wouldn't be surprised to see another record-breaking, history-making season for the greatest player since Tiger Woods.

Baz joined Golf Monthly in January 2024, and now leads the instruction section across all platforms - including print and digital. Working closely with Golf Monthly's Top 50 Coaches, he aims to curate and share useful tips on every aspect of the game - helping amateurs of all abilities to play better golf. Baz also contributes weekly to the features section, sharing his thoughts on the game we love and the topics that matter most. A member at Sand Moor Golf Club in Leeds, he looks forward to getting out on the course at least once a week in the pursuit of a respectable handicap.

Baz is currently playing:

Driver: Benross Delta XT

3-Wood: Benross Delta XT

Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 4 Hybrid

Irons: Benross Delta XT 5-PW

Wedges: TaylorMade RAC 60, Callaway Jaws MD5 54

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

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