‘If McIlroy feels free that could be a scary thing’

Now that Xander Schauffele has won the Masters, Rory McIlroy is backing him to quickly add five more majors to his already five.

Justin Rose defeated McIlroy in a play-off earlier this month at Augusta National to end a 10-year drought in the sport’s biggest championships and become only the sixth player to win all four of the majors.

American Schauffele, who won the Open and US PGA Championship in a remarkable 2024 tournament, described him as a “generational talent” and said, “To do what he did is incredible for the game of golf.”

“That could be a pretty terrifying thing if that was what was keeping him from feeling free.”

He “has all the tools,” he claims. When he’s firing on all cylinders, I’ve played against him, which is not fun for me. Everyone else will enjoy it, but it’s difficult to beat.

McIlroy will have his next major opportunity when the US PGA Championship takes place next month. He has won four of his courses, including Quail Hollow in North Carolina, where it will take place from May 15 through May 18.

The US Open will take place in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, on June 12 through 15. McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in the last six years, including the other two, finishing in second place overall.

And when he travels to the Antrim coast for the 153rd round of golf’s oldest major, he will find that Shane Lowry of Ireland and Shane Lowry of Ireland will both be supporting him and him at the end of the record 278, 000 spectators, who won the title last year at the Dunluce Links in 2019.

Since his win at Augusta National, there has only been more buzz about McIlroy’s return to the scene of one of his most disappointing major victories, when his first drive of the championship careered out of bounds when he posted a quadruple-bogey eight on the opening hole before going on to miss the halfway cut.

Schauffele, who will bring the Claret Jug back to R&amp A at the start of the week, says, “use that to my advantage.”

He continued, “I’ll do that exactly if I can cruise along and fly under the radar.”

The 31-year-old has drunk “wine and tequila” from the well-known old trophy because “dad definitely consumes more wine than I do,” according to the 31-year-old, who spends most of the year with his parents.

The Californian hopes for what he perceives to be traditional British summer weather to sway the course-lashing rain and howling wind during the championship, as did his case at Royal Troon in July.

He grinned and said, “I’m from San Diego, where the wind blows a blistering three miles per hour.”

“I don’t think of it being sunny when I think of Open Championship golf.” I imagine people wearing beanies and working together with their caddie to end the golf course war.