'None of us could hang with Scottie this week' — McIlroy expresses admiration for 'amazing' Scheffler
Rory McIlroy tees off on the 12th hole during Day Four of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy could only tip his cap to an incredible Scottie Scheffler but he still believes he’ll have his chances to add to his major haul.
The Holywood star could not mount the final round charge he needed to come from six strokes behind the world number one and claim a dream win at Royal Portrush.
But while the Masters champion expressed his admiration for Scheffler’s brilliance on the Dunluce links and his dominance over the past few years, he is not discouraged.
“All I can do is focus on myself and try to play the best golf that I can,” McIlroy said after a closing 69 left him seven shots adrift of the Texan in a tie for seventh. “I know that when I do that, I'll have my weeks where I'll contend and hopefully win.”
Scheffler now needs only the US Open to match McIlroy and complete the career Grand Slam and the Down man was full of praise.
“Yeah, none of us could hang with Scottie this week,” he said as Scheffler shot 68 to win by four strokes from Harris English and by five from last week’s Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup on 17-under-par.
“He's an incredible player. He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to.
“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 like the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.
“Yeah, he's a very worthy winner. Also, he's a great person, and I think he's a wonderful ambassador for our game as well. I'm really happy for him and Meredith and his family.”
It was an emotional week for McIlroy, who missed the cut when The Open returned to Royal Portrush in 2019 and he hopes to have at least one more chance to win a Claret Jug on home soil.
“I tried as best as I could to keep my emotions in check, especially walking up the last there and that reception,” McIlroy said.
“Look, it's been an awesome week. I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a Claret Jug, and that's just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.
“It's been an amazing week. I feel so thankful and just so lucky that I get to do this, I get to do this in front of this crowd. Hopefully I'll have one or two Opens left here, if the R&A decide to keep coming back, probably one while I'm still competitive and another one while I'm more grey than I already am.
“It's just been incredible to come back here and to play and at least feel like I had a chance today going out there. Just an awesome week.
“Honestly, I think Portrush has quickly turned into one of the best two or three venues that The Open goes to. Talk to every player this week, and they won't say one single bad thing about the golf course.
“Then I just think the way it sets up, from a logistical standpoint, I think the R&A have worked so well with the local government to make sure everything runs smoothly. "It's only been six years since 2019. I'm not sure Portrush is going to have The Open every six years, that would be nice, but I would obviously love it to keep coming back.”
As for his final round, he admitted his failure to take advantage of big drives on the eighth and ninth and his double bogey at the 10th ended his slim hopes.
“I feel like I try my hardest every time I play,” he said. “I'm not going to try even harder here. If anything, that's probably to my detriment. I felt like I did well. Eight, nine and 10 today were the ones that killed me. Not that I was never going to get to 17-under, I don't think.
“I could have maybe finished second, which would have been better than where I did finish, but only making par off those tee shots on eight and nine and then the double off of 10 after the flier, that did me in. Then I just tried to play a good back nine and finish as well as I could.”
McIlroy won three times earlier this season — the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, The Players and the Masters — and he’s now targeting an away Ryder Cup win.
“I feel like I'm getting back to where I want to be, and we've still got a lot of golf left this year with obviously Ryder Cup being the big one in there in September,” he said.
“I don't want to play too much leading up to that because I want to be fresh. So I'm looking forward to a few weeks off here. I'll reflect on what's been already a good year and start to get myself ready for that run up to the Ryder Cup.”
As for watching Scheffler dominate the game, he had only one feeling.
“Admiration,” he said. “I think all you can do is admire what he does and how he does it. I think what he does is one thing, but how he does it is another.
“He just goes about his business, doesn't do anything overly flamboyant, but he's the best at executing in the game right now. “
"Yeah, he's been absolutely amazing over these past two to three years. As I said, all you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration.”
