Brandel Chamblee argues there’s a stat which proves Scottie Scheffler is a much better golfer than Rory McIlroy
· Yahoo Sports
Last year, Scottie Scheffler was undoubtedly the best player in the world.
Winning six times, including two major championships, Scheffler could only be compared to the legends of golf’s past. But he’s come back down to earth this year, and the chasing pack is hunting him down.
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Rory McIlroy has been number two to Scheffler for quite some time now, but after winning The Masters to bring his major tally to six, questions as to who is the better golfer when both are on their A-games are now being asked.
But Brandel Chamblee has presented statistics that he thinks prove unequivocally that Scheffler is the better golfer.
Photo by Warren Little/Getty ImagesThe statistics that show Scottie Scheffler is better than Rory McIlroy
Chamblee has frequently made the case that Scheffler is definitively a better golfer than McIlroy has ever been, and he listed a series of statistics that he thinks puts this beyond any doubt.
Speaking on “My Favorite Chamblee”, he said, “It’s not a matter of opinion. There’s 20 years of data for Rory, and there’s coming up on 10 for Scottie. And look, Rory is going to go down as one of the greatest players of all time, so this speaks to how unbelievably talented Scottie is.
“If you cherry-pick the very best year, choose whatever metric you want, Strokes Gained or scoring average, the best year that Rory’s ever had in terms of scoring average, in 2022 he averaged 68.6 and change.
“Scottie, who has not had nearly as many years on the tour to cherry-pick from, last year averaged 68.1. That is half a shot better per round. So this is Usain Bolt finishing five yards ahead of whoever is racing against him, if you chose the greatest race someone’s ever had.
“So Rory’s been doing this a long, long time, and what Rory has never done is lead the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach. He finished second once, that was to Tiger Woods back in 2012. But Scottie has led in Strokes Gained: Approach for three years.
“Rory has never led the PGA Tour in greens in regulation. Never. Scottie has led it, this is his third year to lead it. He’s leading it again this year. Scottie has won the low scoring average three years in a row. Rory never did that.
“Rory did win the Vardon Trophy four times, but he never did it consecutively three years in a row. The only other players to do that consecutively three years in a row are Tiger Woods, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino, and that’s going back to 1947.
“Jack Nicklaus would have done it, but he never played enough rounds to qualify for the Vardon Trophy, they have minimum round requirements.
“So wherever metric you want to use, the best Rory has ever played over the course of a year, he’s not even close to what Scottie has done last year. Now, Scottie’s off his game this year to a small extent. He’s playing the worst golf he’s played in four years. And he’s still the best in the world.
“He’s still number one in scoring average. He’s still number one in Strokes Gained: Total. The point that Rory is more well-rounded now and a more complete player, and you can argue these things, but the numbers do not back that up.”
As Scheffler’s form has dipped slightly in 2026, it’s worth remembering that his last two seasons have been some of the most dominant we have ever seen in the sport, and McIlroy’s best years just simply do not match up.