Coming into The CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch, Scottie Scheffler had yet to record a victory during the first few months of this 2025 PGA Tour season.
That's typical for most, but with the 28-year-old notching nine wins last year, it simply seems a little out of the ordinary, which speaks to just how dominant he's been.
But it's not as if the world No. 1 has played poorly by any stretch of the imagination.
After missing the first month of the year after suffering a hand injury in a freak accident on Christmas Day, one which ultimately required surgery, Scheffler had finished in the top 10 in five of his eight starts leading into this week, three of which were top-5s, and had yet to finish outside the top 25, his worst week being a T25 at the WM Phoenix Open.
Scottie's winless 2025, however, is set to come to an end, as he's been on absolute fire at the Byron Nelson. In shooting 61-63 over his first two rounds, the Dallas resident now owns the second-lowest 36-hole score in PGA Tour history.
And with a third-round 66, Scheffler took an eight-shot lead into the final round, marking the largest 54-hole advantage in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event since Rory McIlroy held the same eight-shot advantage heading into the final round of the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional.
McIlroy, of course, has been the toast of the golf world this year, already earning victories at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Players Championship, and most notably The Masters, where he became just the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam.
And Scheffler is well aware of what Rory is doing, which he addressed in a recent media session.
Scottie Scheffler wants to get where Rory McIlroy is right now
A couple of days ahead of the Byron Nelson, I attended an early Media Day event at TPC River Highlands for June's Travelers Championship, which Scheffler won last year by defeating Tom Kim in a playoff.
As the defending champion, Scottie joined us for a video chat and was asked by host Chris Berman (yes, that Chris Berman) whether McIlroy's success this season has added any extra pressure to get back to the winner's circle. And here's what Scheffler had to say in response:
"Um, you know, that's a good question. I think with the amount of talent that we have on Tour right now, I think at any point you could see guys start breaking off wins like they are right now. Xander [Schauffele] winning multiple majors last year. Rory making his run now. I had a good run last year.
"And so, I think at all times you've gotta be really careful not to get too comfortable, and you've always gotta be working really hard. You can't ever really let off the gas. I certainly haven't let off the gas at all, and I don't plan on letting off the gas as long as I'm still playing.
"So, when you see somebody have that success, I think you always want to be there. And the tournaments that Rory's won, I've been on the outside looking in. At The Masters, I was decently close, but at the end of the day, I'm three or four shots back of those guys.
"I've gotta continue to work on the things I'm working on, and I think my golf game is good enough to get where I want to go."
Scheffler's game is obviously in a great place right now, and he'll now look to take the momentum from his win at the Byron Nelson into his next battle with McIlroy.
Unfortunately, Scottie is skipping this week's Signature Event, the Truist Championship, and will next tee it up at the PGA Championship. And don't think for a second that Scheffler doesn't know that Rory has four wins at Quail Hollow.