Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler's relationship clear to see with apology and wife joke
Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler may have spent a chunk of the 2025 golf season fiercely competing, but their respect for one another goes far. The pair have enjoyed an impressive year.
Scheffler, 29, recently secured his fourth major, and second of 2025, with victory in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Meanwhile, McIlroy, 36, completed his career Grand Slam in April by claiming the Masters for the first time.
Despite their rivalry, the pair share a history of good-natured banter and mutual respect, reports Belfast Live. McIlroy even predicted Scheffler's recent triumph at The Open.
From cheeky remarks about prison sentences to quips about Scheffler's wife, and even a meeting between McIlroy and his rival's mum and dad, Mirror Sport takes a closer look at the friendship between Scheffler and McIlroy.
McIlroy praises "different level" Scheffler
McIlroy voiced his respect for Scheffler after the world No. 1's breathtaking display at Portrush, with the Holywood star trailing seven shots behind the victorious Scheffler.
"I wish I had have been closer to Scottie going into today and been able to make a real push but he's been on a different level all week and he's been on a different level for the last two years to the rest of us," said McIlroy.
"None of us could live with what he had this week. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to at this point, so hats off to him.
"In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.
"He's been absolutely amazing over these past two to three years. He's an unbelievable player, an incredible champion and a great person too."
Scheffler's US Open response
The mutual admiration flows in both directions. Following McIlroy's heartbreaking defeat at the US Open last year, where he was pipped to the post by Bryson DeChambeau, the New Jersey-born Scheffler chose not to flood his mate with texts, instead allowing him space to come to terms with the crushing loss.
"As far as reaching out to Rory, I didn't," Scheffler said in July 2024. "He took the next week off at The Travelers [championship] and it seemed to me like he wanted his space and so just felt like giving us his space was the best thing to do."
McIlroy's words for Scheffler's parents
Their respect runs so deep that McIlroy even made time for Scheffler's mum and dad. In August 2022, McIlroy claimed the FedEx Cup for a third time in his career to beat Scheffler to the prize.
After departing the 18th, McIlroy bumped into Scheffler's parents, Scott and Diane. With typical class, the Northern Irish superstar told the couple that their son "deserved" the triumph following a campaign that also saw him claim three PGA Tour victories and his maiden major at the Masters.
"I'm sorry," McIlroy said. "He deserves it. He's had an unbelievable year." Scheffler's father replied: "So did you. Good playing". Diane also commended McIlroy.
Scheffler on McIlroy's Masters triumph
Scheffler paid McIlroy the ultimate compliment by assisting him into the prestigious green jacket following his Masters victory this year. Speaking afterwards, Scheffler praised the 2025 champion.
"In that moment, like it was such an emotional day for him, I kind of just tried to stay out of the way and basically get the jacket on without embarrassing him or myself," Scheffler told reporters.
"It was brilliant to witness Rory finally get over the line. Certainly from the outside it appeared more like relief than anything else. Rory has achieved everything in the sport of golf, and that was truly the final piece of the puzzle for him."
McIlroy's jail crack
Scheffler may be the planet's top golfer, but his reputation took a temporary hit following an incident in which, during one morning in 2024, while trying to reach Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship, officers claim he unlawfully drove around a crash scene.
He faced charges and had his police mugshot taken before ultimately being freed. Scheffler subsequently described the episode as a "big misunderstanding."
Nevertheless, McIlroy completely understood the situation and couldn't help but tease Scheffler about the embarrassing episode. After Xander Schauffele's victory, McIlroy commented on Scheffler's T8 finish: "The fact that the only thing that took him from winning a golf tournament was going into a jail cell for an hour."
Scheffler hit back after McIlroy's wife jibe
Scheffler had a witty response to McIlroy's comments over a hand injury that kept Scheffler out of action at the turn of the year. The 29-year-old cut himself on a broken wine glass while cooking ravioli on Christmas Day and missed the opening two events of the PGA Tour.
McIlroy queried: "Like, why are you cooking yourself? I was hoping it was going to be more of a fun story than that. It's good that he's tearing it up this week, but yeah, get a chef."
Never to let McIlroy have the last word, Scheffler later hit back: "I got a chef. Her name is Meredith [Scheffler's wife]. She's pretty cute."
However, word on whether Meredith found the jibe funny isn't clear.
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