Rory McIlroy says it’s “pretty hard” for Xander Schauffele to top Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 season

Rory McIlroy is at TPC Southwind for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first event of the PGA Tour post-season. The Northern Irish golfer held a press conference on Wednesday, August 14, where he spoke about several topics, including the most recurring one on the circuit these days.

A reporter asked Rory McIlroy which season he would choose for himself (if he had the choice) between those just signed by Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. The 35-year-old chose the one that included winning the Masters Tournament.

Rory McIlroy said (via TenGolf):

"Scottie's. I mean, I think winning the Masters, an Olympic gold medal, winning...whatever it is...six times, that's... yeah, it's pretty hard to top that."

The Masters Tournament is the only career major Rory McIlroy has yet to win. He has also failed to win a medal in two Olympic Games appearances, representing Ireland.

Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler are in the middle of every conversation about who has had the best season in world golf. Schauffele has won two majors, while Scheffler has won a major, five other tournaments and the Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024.

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What else did Rory McIlroy talk about at the press conference?

Rory McIlroy also gave his assessment of his own regular season on the PGA Tour. He said he had a slow start but has played some very good golf since then:

"It was probably a slower start to the season than I would have liked. Really didn't feel like I got going until sort of April or May, and then I've played pretty good golf since then, you know, the couple wins, a couple other opportunities to win as well"

He added:

"So, overall, reasonably happy with the way I've played this year and obviously I've got three tournaments coming up to try to turn a pretty good year in a very good year."

McIlroy has played in 16 PGA Tour events through 2024, missing the cut just once (The Open Championship). He has six top-10 finishes, including two wins and one runner-up finish.

The two wins came at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (teamed with Shane Lowry) and the Wells Fargo Championship. Another highlight of the season was a tie for second at the US Open and a tie for fifth at the Paris Olympics.

The 2024 edition will mark Rory McIlroy's 12th appearance at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. In 11 previous appearances, he has missed the cut just once with two top-10 finishes.

McIlroy is a three-time winner of the FedExCup (2016, 2019 and 2022), making him the most successful winner of the trophy. He won the Tour Championship all three times, and was a multiple winner in each of those seasons.