Xander Schauffele gets candid about the Rory McIlroy vs Scottie Scheffler contest ahead of The Masters

Modified Apr 08, 2025 12:07 GMT

PGA: FedEx St. Jude Championship - Second Round - Source: Imagn — Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler (Image Source: Imagn)

Xander Schauffele has candidly opened up about playing against Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy ahead of the Masters. McIlroy and Scheffler are the top two favorites for the title at the Augusta National after their phenomenal performances in recent times. The Northern Irishman was remarkable and has already won two tournaments on the 2025 PGA Tour season ahead of the Major.

This week, as the players are gearing up for the Masters, Xander Schauffele reflected on Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and their remarkable form. He was asked during a pre-tournament press conference if he got intimidated or motivated by seeing his fellow players and their brilliant form. In response, the two-time Major winner said:

"Just motivating. Yeah, like I said, there's so many guys that have played at a really high level, and luckily I've learned that I can play at that level. More motivating than anything else. They've been playing incredible golf. Rory has been playing unbelievably well this year with a couple wins already and kind of breezing through what looks like hard golf courses."

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Xander Schauffele has won two Majors in 2024, including the PGA Championship and the Open Championship. However, in the 2025 season, he missed a few events earlier in the season because of a rib injury and has so far only played in four tournaments.

The 31-year-old started the campaign at The Sentry with a T30 finish. He then returned after a break of a few months at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and settled for T40 place. He had a terrible time on the greens playing at the Players Championship, where he settled for 72nd place, and then finally bounced back at the Valspar Championship, where he finished in T12 place.

What are Xander Schauffele's odds to win the Masters 2025?

The top two favorite bets for the 2025 Masters are Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy with odds of +400 and +650, respectively, by CBS Sports, but Xander Schauffele is also among the top favorites. His odds are +1800. Some other favorites are Jon Rahm with odds of +1400, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Åberg.

Here are some of the top favorite picks for the Masters 2025 with their odds (via CBS Sports):

Scottie Scheffler +400
Rory McIlroy +650
Jon Rahm +1400
Collin Morikawa +1600
Ludvig Åberg +1800
Xander Schauffele +1800
Bryson DeChambeau +2000
Justin Thomas +2200
Joaquin Niemann +2800
Hideki Matsuyama +2800
Brooks Koepka +3000
Jordan Spieth +3300

Xander Schauffele has played at the Masters seven times in his career and has four finishes in the top 10. His best is a tie for second, which he recorded in 2019.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy also had a best finish as a runner-up at the Masters, which he recorded in 2022. He is also seeking his first win at the Augusta National event.

Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler won the Masters two times in the last three years. He won in 2022 by registering a win over McIlroy and again in 2024 by defeating Åberg by four strokes.

About the author

Ankita Yadav is an NFL and Golf writer at Sportskeeda with over three years of experience in journalism (and counting). With a Master’s degree in Chemistry, she somehow swapped test tubes for touchdowns and tee shots—and hasn’t looked back since.

She’s previously covered the world of entertainment with OtakuKart and TV Season & Spoilers and worked as an editor at ComingSoon. Her stories have racked up nearly nine million reads, and she’s had the chance to interview top athletes like professional golfer Yuvraj Singh Sandhu.

Based in Bhopal, Ankita proudly supports the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, and is a fan of Nelly Korda. When she’s not writing, she’s probably at a live music show, watching a movie, out on a long drive, or in the kitchen cooking up something that tastes better than it looks.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee