Rory McIlroy’s woeful form since his Masters triumph is the polar opposite of Scottie Scheffler’s increasing momentum as both look to win their second major of the year at the U.S. Open

Scottie Scheffler (L) and Rory McIlroy are both hoping to win their second major of the year(Image: Getty Images)

Scottie Scheffler once disagreed with Rory McIlroy’s glowing comparison of him to Tiger Woods, with the pair both eyeing glory at the upcoming U.S. Open.

McIlroy has been remarkably out of form since winning the Masters for the first time in April to complete a career Grand Slam. Meanwhile, his rival Scheffler has started to raise his level this season, winning the PGA Championship in May.

After a poor display at the U.S. PGA, McIlroy endured another lackluster display at the RBC Canadian Open this week, where he crashed out and missed his first cut of the season. The Northern Irishman struggled with a new driver and shot 78 in Friday’s second round.

Having finished nine-over par for the tournament to tie for 149th place – the worst finish in his PGA Tour career – McIlroy admitted he was concerned by his driving ahead of the third major of the year at Oakmont.

“Yeah, of course it concerns me,” McIlroy said. “You don’t want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn’t.

“Obviously, going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still searching for the missing piece off the tee.

“For me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now that isn’t. Yeah, that’s a concern going into next week.”

Rory McIlroy admitted he is concerned after his outing at the RBC Canadian Open(Image: Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Scheffler, on the other hand, skipped Canada and is the favorite to win the U.S. Open, making him McIlroy’s biggest rival for the crown. The Texan is in incredible form after an initially slow start to the 2025 season, winning three of the last four events he’s played in.

The 28-year-old won the Byron Nelson before following up his PGA Championship glory with victory at Memorial. Scheffler hasn’t finished outside the top 10 since March, so he’ll surely be up there challenging at the top of the leaderboard again. Despite not winning the U.S. Open yet, he’s finished T7, T2 and third in recent years and will want to go all the way this time.

And McIlroy is under no illusions about the threat Scheffler poses, once claiming that he is just like legendary golfer Woods in that he “just doesn’t make mistakes” following his rival’s extraordinary achievements in 2024.

The five-time major winner said: “I’ve never – this is anyone, this is Tiger, this is in the history of golf – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a golfer play as many bogey-free rounds as Scottie. He just doesn’t make mistakes. He plays the right shot at the right time over and over and over again.”

Scheffler was quick to play down those comparison, however, while voicing his respect for 15-time major champion Woods after defending his Hero World Challenge title last year.

Scottie Scheffler has established himself as a golfing juggernaut reminiscent of Tiger Woods(Image: Getty Images)

Scheffler said after being quizzed on whether he’s had time for self-reflection following his outstanding season: “Yeah, I mean, I’m never really good at that kind of stuff. I really do my best when I stay in the present. It’s been a fantastic year, I’m very grateful for the season and grateful for the wins and it’s been a ton of fun.

“But at the end of the day when we go home I’m looking forward to doing stuff that’s not golf. I like to go home and live my life and enjoy my time at home. I’ve had a little bit of time to reflect, but I’m not really sure how to assess it. It’s just been pretty surreal, it’s been a lot of fun. I’m just really grateful.”

Scheffler showed similarities to Woods’ dominance last year by winning a whopping nine tournaments, including the Masters, an Olympic gold medal and the FedEx Cup.

If McIlroy wants to have any chance of beating Scheffler, he will need to work through the problems with his new driver, after his previous model was deemed non-conforming in a random test last month.

His arrival at the U.S. Open will also bring about harrowing memories of last year’s collapse, where he led with five holes to play in the final round before handing the title to Bryson DeChambeau. That followed another second-place in 2023, when Wyndham Clark held off McIlroy to win by a shot.