Rory McIlroy’s comments expose key advantage he holds over Scottie Scheffler going into The Open

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Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy could not have had more contrasting weeks so far at the Scottish Open.

World number one Scheffler won’t see the weekend of a tournament for the first time since August 2022. His missed cut in Scotland is his first in 78 events, which was by far the longest active streak on the PGA Tour.

But while Scheffler heads to Royal Birkdale early, McIlroy has a tournament to win. He’s the joint leader at the Scottish Open after shooting nine-under par over his first two days.

Scheffler has never performed well at this event, while McIlroy is perennially in the mix. And the Masters champion’s comments after his second round show exactly why.

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Rory McIlroy’s comments at the Scottish Open expose his edge over Scottie Scheffler​

McIlroy is leading the Scottish Open, but he doesn’t really look like he’s gotten out of third gear. He’s cruising around The Renaissance Club, looking in complete control.

When this was put to him after his second round, he explained that he’s feeling at home on these Scottish greens. McIlroy said, “I like these greens. I see the lines pretty well.

“The reads are quite obvious compared to maybe some other links courses that are a little more subtle. I got my eye in early and holed some nice putts and continued that for the rest of the day.”

But while McIlroy has the feel for these putting surfaces, that could not be further from the case for Scheffler. For years, he hasn’t been able to figure out the greens at The Renaissance Club.

He admitted as much before the tournament, saying, “I’d say one of the things that takes a little bit more time to get used to would be the speed of the greens. It’s unique for us because the greens are quite firm, but they are also a little bit slower than what we are used to at home.

“So getting used to how the ball runs on the green, especially when you are hitting pitches. Like I said, they are a bit slower, so just really ingraining that into your head, the speed of the greens. That’s why it’s really nice to get over and play some competitive golf the week before as well because everything always feels a little bit different when you get out there in competition.”

But looking at his recent history at the Scottish Open and The Open Championship, there is some room for optimism for Scheffler.

Scottie Scheffler’s putting performances at The Open Championship​

While he didn’t miss the cut, Scheffler also struggled with his putting at last year’s Scottish Open. He lost strokes to the field on the greens on his way to a T8 finish, but he corrected that quickly at The Open at Royal Portrush.

Scheffler figured out the UK greens for the first time in his career on his way to his Open Championship win. He gained an unbelievable 2.16 strokes to the field with his putting to win his fourth major championship.

Now it remains to be seen whether this was just a blip or part of a longer-term trend. Scheffler reverted to his poor putting on links courses in Scotland, resulting in a missed cut.

But at least last year’s Open gives Scheffler some hope that he can turn this around.

• READ MORE: What Justin Thomas privately told Max Homa about having to play at the Scottish Open

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