Are we headed for a Scottie Scheffler vs. Rory McIlroy showdown at Valhalla in the 2024 PGA Championship?
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 11: Scottie Scheffler of the United States and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland shake hands on the 18th green during the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia.
Only two golfers currently have low odds entering the 2024 PGA Championship: Scottie Scheffler (7/2) and Rory McIlroy (12-1). They have combined to win the last three weeks on the PGA Tour (McIlroy’s albeit in a team event alongside Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic) in which they played.
Depending how the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow goes this week, it appears as if the Tour could be headed for a Scheffler vs. McIlroy duel at Valhalla in the second major of the year.
Scheffler, of course, is winning everything in sight. McIlroy, who has struggled slightly in some of the bigger events despite winning twice so far in 2024, won the last time a major was played at Valhalla (10 years ago). It is a best-case scenario to get these two in some sort of duel for the PGA Championship, but given how well Scehffler is playing and how solidly McIlroy has been performing at majors, it’s not that big of a leap.
Especially given what McIlroy may have found in New Orleans two weekends ago.
By almost any measure, these two are the best golfers in the world over the last three years. Scheffler has 11 worldwide wins since Jan. 1, 2022, the only golfer ahead of McIlroy’s seven. They also rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the following categories:
- Top 5s, top 10s, top 25s
- Strokes gained: overall, ball striking, tee to green, off the tee
- At majors: Top 5s, top 10s
- Strokes gained at majors: overall, tee to green
Here’s the interesting part: Though it’s McIlroy who has gone nearly a decade without a major championship victory, a tremendous performance from him might benefit Scheffer, or rather golf overall, just as much.
Though the ratings for the Masters and RBC Heritage were down — both Scheffler wins — those for the Zurich Classic two weeks ago were up significantly. There are dozens of factors that go into ratings, of course, but McIlroy still moves the needle.
Just before their victory in New Orleans, McIlroy and Lowry got a standing ovation at a restaurant. It is emblematic of McIlroy’s stature within the game, and it was not the first time Lowry had been wowed by his buddy’s presence.
“It was weird for me,” Lowry. said. “That stuff doesn’t happen to me.”
“It doesn’t happen to me, either,” McIlroy quipped.
“He’s getting old, but he can still move the needle a little bit,” Lowry shot back. “Rory brings a crowd, and people love him. We’ve got a lot of love this week in New Orleans, and we’ve had just the best week.”
There has been recent criticism — from golf fans broadly — that Scheffler is boring, not interesting enough to bring about massive crowds whether in person or on television.
That’s certainly not a perspective I hold, though going toe to toe with the biggest non-Tiger Woods draw in the game — while winning a second straight major to get halfway to the 2024 grand slam — would certainly benefit Scheffler on this front.
It would certainly benefit McIlroy as well as he would exit the 25-4 club (PGA Tour wins, major victories) where he currently resides and head toward the more exclusive 30-5 club. A victory would also put him alongside Brooks Koepka with five major championships in their race toward Phil Mickelson (six) and Arnold Palmer (seven).
And it would be earned. McIlroy would have to go through somebody who’s on one of the hottest runs of the last two decades.
The biggest winner, though, would be golf itself, which has been through the ringer over the last few years.
Between all the bickering about LIV Golf and the splitting of the PGA Tour and all the money and equity and board seats that have been distributed and redistributed, feel-good stories at the top of the men’s game have been difficult to find.
This would be one of them.
Two golfers who have spent most of the last few years dominating the professional ranks, each looking for something historic: Scottie, a second leg to his slam. Rory, a fifth major title to his resume.
Two golfers who are easy to cheer and fun to dissect as true champions. Two golfers who, in different ways, have led men’s golf into an uncertain future. Two golfers who, by slaying one another, could benefit not just themselves but golf fans the world over.