Rory McIlroy will be more motivated than ever to put together a scintillating season after Scottie Scheffler’s dominant 2024, according to Sky Sports pundit Wayne Riley. McIlroy was already on the board by the beginning of February with a victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and he has added a second big tournament to his 2025 collection by defeating JJ Spaun in a play-off at The Players Championship.
McIlroy had to hold his nerve at TPC Sawgrass as he and Spaun re-emerged on Monday for their three-hole decider. It ended up being a comfortable play-off victory for the Northern Irishman, who has now won two PGA Tour events this year while Scheffler is yet to get off the mark. Riley believes that McIlroy ‘did not like’ getting a ‘whipping’ from Scheffler last year. And proving that he can put together just as dominant a season will be more motivating for the 35-year-old than anything else.
“I think, honestly, over the last five or six months, he saw what Scottie was doing and it has motivated him,” Riley told Sky Sports. “He thought, ‘Well, if Scottie can do that, I can do that. Scottie is giving us all a good whipping’. “Rory doesn’t like that and he loves a little motivation, he is very much a confidence golfer. Everyone has got to remember what Scottie did last year has been done before. Justin Thomas has done things like that, [Jordan] Spieth was doing things like that, Rory was doing things like that.
“Unsurprisingly, Tiger Woods has done things like that every second year for so very long. Rory McIlroy wants to go out there and get a five-win season this year and he has already got two big ones early doors.” Victory at The Players Championship saw McIlroy come out on top in the most-coveted event outside of the four majors. He will be desperate to go one better and end his 11-year major drought this season, with The Masters scheduled to get underway next month.