Rory McIlroy vs Scottie Scheffler: Does Masters win give McIlroy the edge in rivalry of world's top two?
Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler's 1-2 finish at The Masters is only the second time the world's top two have been first and second in a men's major since Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at the 2002 US Open; watch all four men's majors exclusively live on Sky Sports
Tuesday 14 April 2026 06:04, UK
Is Rory McIlroy the best golfer in the world right now?
"I know Scottie Scheffler is number one [in the rankings], but to me Rory McIlroy is the best player in the world," Butch Harmon told Sky Sports after McIlroy clinched back-to-back Masters victories on Sunday.
It's a fair question to ponder, along with all the others posed following his sixth major success: can Rory McIlroy complete the career Grand Slam twice? Is the calendar Slam on in 2026? Is he Europe's greatest-ever golfer?
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The dominance displayed by McIlroy to surge into a six-shot lead through 36 holes at Augusta National, he certainly looked a cut above, like the world's best, but by the end of the weekend there was only one shot - and, admittedly, a second Green Jacket - to separate him and Scheffler, where there had been 12 on Friday evening.
It meant that, fittingly, in a year in which Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were both absent from The Masters for the first time since 1994, it was only the second time the world's top two finished first and second in a men's major since Woods got the better of Mickelson at the 2002 US Open.
Scheffler has finished outside the top 10 only four times in his last 20 majors, with four wins and three runner-up finishes during that period.
McIlroy, meanwhile, has two wins and three runner-up finishes during the same span, with these two destined surely set to battle it out again at the top of the leaderboard in majors - and on the PGA Tour - for years to come.
"There's a clear one and two [in the world] and then it's everybody else," Rich Beem said on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast.
And just to dishearten the chasing pack even further, neither McIlroy nor Scheffler were even at their best this week.
McIlroy's driving off the tee, in particular, was woefully wayward, with the brilliance of his short game repeatedly bailing him out of trouble, while Scheffler got off to the sort of slow start - even par through the first two days - that has plagued much of his 2026 season.
"Rory and Scottie looked like race cars that couldn't quite figure out how to separate themselves from the pack, to get on that straightaway and just let it loose," Beem added.
"They looked like there was just something wrong with their engines, yet they still ended up where they should have ended up."
The pair did enjoy runs of considerable success, with McIlroy's 12-shot halfway lead coming courtesy of a 65 on Friday, while Scheffler shot seven under himself on the Saturday, on his way to becoming the first golfer since 1942 to be bogey-free over the weekend at The Masters.
"How the tournament unfolded helped him," Andrew Coltart said on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast. "I'm not sure he believed he could ever get close, but because Rory didn't run away with it in round three, and actually fell back, you almost saw the field and particularly Scheffler become reinvigorated.
"He fed off that and put himself into a position where he was just waiting for the error [from McIlroy on Sunday]. Unfortunately, from his point of view, it didn't come."
This was a different McIlroy, one that looked unburdened by expectation, freed a year prior from a Masters mission that had become his obsession.
He was "playing with the house's money", as he put it himself on the Friday, and though there was a wobble Saturday and into early Sunday, McIlroy ultimately prevailed.
Despite his victory, however, Scheffler maintains his healthy advantage in the world rankings, McIlroy's Masters success seeing him close the gap by only 0.9 points (Scheffler 16.2, McIlroy 10.1) due to the world No 1 finishing second.
As McIlroy looks to overturn that deficit, are we possibly witnessing the start of a rivalry, with the duo having shared four of the last five major championships between them, as well as four of the last five wins at Augusta?
Not yet, according to Coltart.
"Scottie has been world number one for 152 consecutive weeks now," he said. "There needs to be a jostling of positions for it to be called a rivalry.
"He has separated himself from the pack the past couple of years and it's been really disappointing from Rory's point of view that he's not been able to close the gap. Hopefully that's about to change.
"Hopefully that gap is going to decrease and they are going to start kicking off and jostling for that number one position.
"I don't believe Rory's happy being number two."
Can McIlroy enjoy more major success this year? Watch the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more exclusive live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.
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