Scottie Scheffler will go head-to-head with Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship this weekend and has hailed the Northern Irish star on the eve of the showdown.

Scottie Scheffler has praised Rory McIlroy on the eve of the PGA Championship (Image: Getty)

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has claimed that Rory McIlroy has made several improvements to his game ahead of the PGA Championship. McIlroy is enjoying a banner year so far with wins at the Players Championship and Pebble Beach coming before his monumental victory at the Masters, where the Northern Irish superstar finally clinched his career Grand Slam.

Scheffler will be in first-class company at Quail Hollow with McIlroy and reigning US PGA champion Xander Schauffele joining him in a headline group for Thursday’s tee-off. While McIlroy candidly admitted that Scheffler’s own purple patch in 2024 inspired him to kick into gear, Scheffler has now opened up on how the reverse is occuring. The two-time Masters champion has not only eulogised over McIlroy but even insisted that the 36-year-old’s ability for pace and accuracy makes him the best driver the game has ever seen – even surpassing Tiger Woods.

Asked if McIlroy’s current form has lit a fire under him, Scheffler said: “Yeah, I got asked that same question at the Byron, and it’s always motivating when you just get beat, and in golf you tend to get beat a lot. You don’t really get to win that many tournaments.

“Rory has been off to a great start this year, and he’s definitely improved and made some changes in his game from last year. There’s always little things I’m trying to do to get better, and I think that’s why we keep coming back.

“Golf is kind of an endless pursuit of getting the best out of yourself, and I’m looking forward to continuing to do that as the year goes on. But like you said, Rory has been playing some great golf this year.”

Scheffler finished tied for eighth at last year’s PGA Championship and entered 2025 in atypical form after struggling with a hand injury. A T20 finish at the Players was somewhat offset by a respectable fourth place finish at Augusta, where he was attempting to defend his title, yet he did record his first victory of the season at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson earlier this month.

Sheffler has likened McIlroy’s drive to that of Tiger Woods (Image: Getty)
Pressed on if there’s anyone on the Tour who he would swap attributes with, the 28-year-old praised his friend Sam Burns for his putting ability, yet reserved the utmost acclaim for McIlroy.

“I think in our game, there’s always little things that I look at in people’s games that I can improve on,” Scheffler added. “You look at a guy like Rory, you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody that has drove the ball better than he has in the history of the game.

“He might be the best driver of the ball that we’ve ever seen. You had a guy like Tiger had a ton of speed, but Rory just has the accuracy is what sets him apart too. Not only does he hit it really far, he hits it really straight. Those are two little examples just off the top of my head of guys that I would trade with.”

McIlroy will now be heading to Quail Hollow looking to claim his sixth major title and third PGA Championship title after winning the competition in 2012 and 2014. Scheffler meanwhile will be hoping for victory in the major for the very first time, with his best showing coming in 2023 when he was tied for second place behind Brooks Koepka.