Rory McIlroy's Message on Scottie Scheffler Resurfaces

"We’ve all been through it. I’ve certainly been through my fair share of putting woes over the years, and for me going to a mallet was a big change," McIlroy said. "A mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error, and that to me gave me confidence that I could go forward with that knowing that even if I don't put a perfect stroke on it, the ball's not gonna go too far off line. I'd love to see Scottie try a mallet, but, selfishly for me, Scottie does everything else so well that he's giving the rest of us a chance."

Unfortunately for McIlroy, great minds think alike, and Scheffler did switch to a mallet in 2024 and has made it a lot harder for the rest of the field to catch him.

When Scheffler's putter is on, he's just about unstoppable. Scheffler holed 391 feet of putts over the four rounds at Royal Portrush last week and gained a whopping 8.51 strokes over the field in putting. He made all but one of 49 putts within five feet all week.

The contrast between Scheffler's strokes gained in putting prior to switching to a mallet is astounding. According to a story on the PGA Tour website, "Scheffler tried and tested multiple putters [in 2023], starting his search after finishing last in Strokes Gained: Putting at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. He hit the ball so well that he finished just one shot out of a playoff despite ranking last on the greens (-8.52)."

That's the type of putting performance McIlroy alluded to that gives the rest of the field a fighting chance at not seeing Scheffler atop yet another leaderboard.

While Scheffler was already experimenting with mallets prior to McIlory's unsolicited advice on the CBS broadcast in 2024, the five-time major champion's comment holds a renewed relevance today considering what Scheffler has achieved with the new putter.

Since Scheffler switched to a mallet putter in 2024, he has gone on to win 11 PGA Tour events, an Olympic gold medal and three majors.

Scheffler's complete turnaround on the greens is also thanks in part to his work with world renowned putting coach Phil Kenyon, who has been working with Scheffler since late 2023.

According to the BBC, Kenyon and Scheffler paid specific attention to Scheffler's "reading of the greens and increasing the stability of his grip. Switching to a claw grip — where the right hand acts as a pincer lower down the shaft — has transformed Scheffler into one of the most reliable putters in the game."

During his press conference after the conclusion of The Open on Sunday, McIlroy's comments about Scheffler didn't offer any advice, but it was an acknowledgement of Scheffler's incredible achievements over the past two years.

“In a historical context, you could argue that there’s only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie’s been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive."