“He’s playing like Scottie Scheffler” – Rory McIlroy ‘not surprised’ by 3x major champ’s form at the Open Championship 2025

Following Scottie Scheffler's 54-hole lead at The Open Championship, Rory McIlroy showed praise for his rival. He said it was no surprise that the World No. 1 golfer was once again in contention at yet another tournament.

On Saturday, July 19, five-time major champion carded a 5-under 66 to jump eight spots to T4. Despite shooting his best round at The Open Championship 2025, he was still six strokes behind Scheffler, who fired a 68.

During the post-round interview, Rory McIlroy lauded Scheffler's consistency.

"Yeah, he's playing like Scottie," he said. "I don't think it's a surprise. Everyone's seen the way he's played or plays over the last two or three years. He's just so solid. He doesn't make mistakes. It looked like he could have made bogey on 14 there. "He's turned himself into a really consistent putter as well. So there doesn't seem to be any weakness there. Whenever you're trying to chase down a guy like that, it's hard to do. But he's incredibly impressive," he added.

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Rory McIlroy admits chasing down Scottie Scheffler at the Open Championship 2025 will be a tough task

The 36-year-old golfer stated that, despite not being at his best, Scottie Scheffler was a force to be reckoned with. He added that it was going to be tough to catch the three-time major champ if he continued playing like this on Sunday.

"Yeah, it's going to be tough to catch him tomorrow if he keeps playing the way he does," he added. "But if I can get out tomorrow and get off to a similar start to what I did today, get the crowd going, hopefully he tails out a couple groups behind me, and you never know. "But I just need to go out and play another really good round of golf tomorrow and see what happens."

Both McIlroy and Scheffler are looking for their fourth win and second major of the season. While the Northern Irishman completed his career Grand Slam with the Masters Tournament win, Scheffler claimed the PGA Championship a couple of months ago. If he wins the Open Championship on Sunday, he will be just a US Open title away from completing the career Grand Slam.

Rory McIlroy is paired with Matt Fitzpatrick for the final day action at Royal Portrush. The duo will tee off on Sunday, July 20, at 2:20 p.m. BST. Scheffler is grouped with Haotong Li and will tee off at 2:30 p.m. BST from the first hole.

Edited by Shobhit Kukreti