Scottie Scheffler writes off 7-year age gap with rival Rory McIlroy

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the two top-ranked golfers playing at the Texas Children's Houston Open 2025 this week. They both have been pretty successful on the PGA Tour and have had a remarkable journey so far.

Earlier this month, Rory McIlroy won The Players Championship for the second time in his career, joining the elite club of players such as Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods, and Jack Nicklaus, who have won the tournament and the majors multiple times in their careers. At The Players, the Northern Irish golfer reflected on joining the club.

"I'd seen it. I'd seen it somewhere, that Jack, Tiger and Scottie were the only three with multiple PLAYERS and multiple majors. It's a nice club to be a part of," McIlroy said (via ASAP Sports).

Meanwhile, on March 26, during the pre-tournament press conference of the Texas Children's Houston Open, Scottie Scheffler was asked about his thoughts on McIlroy catching his record. In response, he said (via Tee Scripts):

"He's got significantly more tournament wins than I do, he has more major wins, I guess up until last week I had technically more PLAYERS wins. I think when you're a great player like that you're always looking for sources of motivation especially as you get a bit older.

"You know, he's been out here for a long time and I think sometimes it can get a bit redundant playing the same events over and over and any source of motivation I think you can have when you're such a great player I think is a good thing," he added.

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, who have an age difference of seven years, have their own amazing journeys on the PGA Tour. McIlroy, who was born in 1989, started playing professionally in 2007 and has so far clinched a total of 43 titles across different golf tours. He is heading closer to 30 wins on the PGA Tour alone, currently settled at 28 titles on the circuit.

Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler, born in 1996, started his professional journey in 2018 and has 18 victories so far, including 13 on the PGA Tour.

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What are Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler's odds for the Texas Children's Houston Open?

This week, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will be playing at the Texas Children's Houston Open and are the top two favorites to win the title. According to DraftKings, Scheffler is the favorite to win the title with +350 odds, while McIlroy has odds of +700.

Here are the odds for the 2025 Texas Children's Houston Open (via DraftKings):

• Scottie Scheffler: +350
• Rory McIlroy: +700
• Aaron Rai: +2800
• Wyndham Clark: +3000
• J.J. Spaun: +3000
• Tony Finau: +3000
• Min Woo Lee: +3500
• Michael Kim: +3500
• Jason Day: +3500
• Davis Thompson: +3500
• Sungjae Im: +3500
• Taylor Pendrith: +4000
• Si Woo Kim: +4000
• Jacob Bridgeman: +4500
• Stephan Jaeger: +4500
• Maverick McNealy: +5000
• Sahith Theegala: +5000

The PGA Tour event is scheduled to take place from March 27 to 30.