Why Rory McIlroy winning The Masters was exactly what Scottie Scheffler needed

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Scottie Scheffler missed out on forcing a playoff at The Masters by just one shot on Sunday.

Despite Scheffler’s average form during the first two rounds of The Masters, he looked much more like his old self over the weekend at Augusta National.

The 29-year-old world number one posted rounds of 65 and 68 on Saturday and Sunday respectively, without making a bogey.

Scheffler became the first man to do that at The Masters since 1942 and it was a real sign that he is close to being back to his best.

The vast majority of golfers would be more than happy with a second-place finish at The Masters, but not Scottie Scheffler.

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He would have been lamenting his poor round on Friday when he played poorly and posted a score of 74.

Scheffler was on the wrong side of the Masters draw during the first two rounds, but Rory McIlroy beating him by just one stroke at Augusta National could end up being the best thing that ever happened to him.

Why Rory McIlroy winning The Masters was exactly what Scottie Scheffler needed

McIlroy’s win at Augusta National in 2025 proved to be the spark that lit Scheffler’s fire for the next five months.

The 29-year-old from Dallas spoke after the Northern Irishman’s historical Masters win in April 2025.

“I think any time somebody has beaten any of us out here, I think we’re all — I guess you could say inspired, but I think we’re all fired up to come out here and compete,“ Scheffler said.

*“*I think that’s what’s great about our game. Week in and week out, we get to come out here and compete. This week I was the best player. I have the week off, and we’ll see the week after who is the best player at the PGA.

*“*Rory has been playing some tremendous golf this year. The career grand slam was really special to watch. I was glad to be able to be there for it.

“I think any time you’re getting beat, you’re always fired up just a little bit extra to go out and practice. I feel like my game is trending in a good direction. I’m excited to start the rest of the season.“

Incredibly, Scheffler went on to win six of the next 13 tournaments he played in during the remainder of 2025, including the PGA Championship and The Open Championship.

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Now he will be hoping that McIlroy’s Masters triumph on Sunday has a similar effect on his form for the remainder of 2026.

Scottie Scheffler could be set for yet another dominant run

It’s worth remembering that Scheffler has already won on the PGA Tour this season.

Oh, and he has four top-5 finishes to his name in seven starts as well. He has also finished in the top 25 in every single event he has played this year.

So 2026 has hardly been a terrible year for Scheffler so far.

However, anyone who has watched him play over the past two months will have noticed that he hasn’t been anywhere near his best.

He showed last week at Augusta that he is somewhere near back to his best with his driving and iron play.

And now the 29-year-old will undoubtedly be motivated to work even harder on his game after his closest challenger and biggest rival won The Masters.

If he continues to tidy up his iron play, Scheffler could be set for a real period of dominance over the next few months.

He is ranked 16th in strokes gained putting on the PGA Tour so far this season and if he rediscovers his formidable iron play, it could be curtains for his main rivals.