Can Xander Schauffele reclaim World No.2 spot from Rory McIlroy at 2025 Valspar Championship? Odds explored

Modified Mar 20, 2025 22:45 GMT

Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy ahead of 2025 Valspar Championship (Images: All from Getty)

Xander Schauffele started off his 2025 season sitting second on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) behind leader Scottie Scheffler. He’d taken over Rory McIlroy’s position last year with an incredible season, which included the PGA Championship and the US Open wins. However, an unfortunate rib injury sidelined him for over two months after The Sentry, which led to McIlroy reclaiming the second place.

Schauffele is now set to tee up at the 2025 Valspar Championship on Thursday, March 20 at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. The 31-year-old comes into the PGA Tour event, featuring a stacked field of 156 players, as a favorite. As per SportsLine, the two-time major champion comes in with 14-1 odds.

Apart from the $1.56M winner’s paycheck from the whopping $8.7M prize purse, the ace golfer also stands a chance to cut short his ranking points difference to McIlroy. However, he doesn’t stand a chance to reclaim the second place this weekend as the Northern Irishman sits with 463.4 points on the table, owing to his win at The Players last weekend. Schauffele sits behind the four-time major champ with 325 points.

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It is pertinent to note that both Schauffele and McIlroy have lost 75 ranking points each since the start of the 2025 season. However, the World No.2 managed to win 177.8 points while No.3 got stuck with a mere 3.3 points due to his injury woes. Coming off the back of a 72nd-place finish at The Players, Schauffele will be eyeing a big win in Florida as McIlroy takes the week off.

Listed below is Xander Schauffele 2025 PGA Tour season so far with earnings:

The Sentry: T30 - $137,500
Arnold Palmer Invitational: T40 - $78,000
THE PLAYERS Championship: 72 - $50,250

2025 Valspar Championship odds

Byeong Hun An lines up a putt on the seventh green during the first round of the Valspar Championship golf tournament - Source: Imagn

Schauffele leads the Valspar Championship odds table with 14-1 odds. However, he shares the odds with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood. The trio comes into the contest with equal chances, making it a tough outing for each of them.

The trio is followed by past two-time champion Sam Burns with 22-1 odds. Corey Conners (25-1), Sepp Straka (25-1), Shane Lowry (25-1), and Will Zalatoris (25-1) are some others on the top half of the 2025 Valspar Championship odds list.