Rory McIlroy says the PGA Tour Player of the Year race is effectively over, with Scottie Scheffler’s consistency and FedEx Cup dominance separating him.
Rory McIlroy doesn’t sound interested in creating suspense where he doesn’t think any exists.
Asked whether he could still build a case for PGA Tour Player of the Year with a late FedEx Cup surge, McIlroy dismissed the idea and pointed directly at Scottie Scheffler.
“I’m not the Player of the Year, no chance. Scottie Scheffler is,” McIlroy said.
That’s a pretty strong endorsement coming from the world No. 2.
Scheffler strengthened his case dramatically with his victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he won by eight shots and overwhelmed the field with a ridiculous putting performance.
McIlroy saw it up close, playing alongside Scheffler during the first two rounds and losing 15 shots to him over that stretch.
The experience apparently left an impression.
“If he gains nine strokes on the greens every week, we’re all F’d,” McIlroy joked.
Scheffler’s argument goes well beyond one dominant week.
He leads the PGA Tour in scoring average, Strokes Gained: Total, FedEx Cup points, earnings and top-10 finishes, among numerous other categories.
With victories at The American Express and St. Jude now on the résumé, the biggest criticism of his season — not enough wins — has started disappearing.
Matt Fitzpatrick sees it the same way.
“I think a certain someone’s sewed it up last week, if I’m honest,” Fitzpatrick said.
That’s notable because Fitzpatrick owns three wins this season and beat Scheffler head-to-head in a playoff at the RBC Heritage.
Chris Gotterup also has three victories, while Wyndham Clark owns a U.S. Open title and Cameron Young has wins at THE PLAYERS Championship and the Cadillac Championship.
There are legitimate cases everywhere.
But Scheffler’s relentless consistency may be separating him from all of them.
McIlroy, meanwhile, is trying to rediscover his own form before the season ends. Since winning the Masters, he has played seven PGA Tour events without seriously contending.
After Memphis, he returned to Florida for extra work with coach Michael Bannon and caddie Harry Diamond.
He says the swing is moving in the right direction.
The BMW Championship and Tour Championship still matter, of course.
But when two of Scheffler’s biggest potential rivals are already publicly conceding the award?
The vote may technically come later. The race might already be over.
