When you compare the recent performances of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, the contrast is stark – and The Masters has proven no different.
On one hand, the World No.1 Scheffler looks to be systematically navigating Augusta National like a seasoned professional, while on the other hand, World No.2 McIlroy looks to be stumbling towards yet another disappointing attempt to achieve the career grand slam.
In the pursuit of some semblance of hope for Rory's chances, I jumped head first into the data and came up feeling slightly more bleak than when I started...
Scheffler vs McIlroy: The Masters Stats
The gloomy picture revealed itself early on in my search, when diving into the scoring statistics. Scheffler has accumulated nine birdies in his opening two rounds, five more than McIlroy (4) who trails plenty of recognisable names.
In fact, McIlroy was beaten in this category by three of the five amateurs in the field, and outscored only Santiago De La Fuente. He has also scored two less birdies than a lightly-raced Tiger Woods, and when you look at his ball striking you start to realise why.
In the greens in regulation measure, McIlroy ranks tied-75th after 36 holes after hitting less than 50 percent. Scheffler on the other hand ranks tied-9th, and averages a full stroke more than McIlroy in the Stroke Gained: Approach metric since January.
There is also an almost 30% disparity in favour of Scheffler (82%) over McIlroy (53%) in the driving accuracy measure at The Masters this week, leaving very little to be optimistic about as the Northern Irishman's tries to hunt down the former Masters Champion.
One of the key measures for success at Augusta National is par-5 scoring, and you can see how this points to Scheffler's apparent dominance. Scottie accumulated five birdies on the par-5s in his first two rounds, split between three in the first round and two in the trickier second round, which is bettered only by Australian Cam Davis.
When you compare that performance to McIlroy's, the gap expands. McIlroy has made just one birdie on the par-5s this week, in eight attempts, playing the holes in even par on both days.
This should come as no surprise, as Scheffler leads the way in par-5 scoring on the PGA Tour this season, while McIlroy languishes in 71st place in this category. This stat in particular highlights an area where Rory has lost ground on his opponents, as he has finished in the top-25 for par-5 scoring in four of the last five seasons.
He even finished third two seasons ago, and without getting back to this type of standard he will struggle to make a real charge for a first Green Jacket at The Masters.
The putting statistics could be one area where loyal Rory fans can pin their remaining hope, with McIlroy appearing in the top-10 of the putting average tables (1.56).
While that is still seven places behind Scheffler (1.47) in second, it does provide a small reduction in the overwhelming void between the performances of the pair in the first two rounds.
Still, yesterday's birdie-free, five-over-par collapse from Rory has become an all too familiar sight of late, and in what I will now refer to as 'the age of Scheffler', it has become much more difficult for him to turn his fortunes around.
Let's look at their last six starts worldwide. Scheffler has two wins, a runner-up finish, a third and two further top-10s. McIlroy was third last time out, in Texas, but other than that has not managed a single top-15 finish in five other starts.
McIlroy himself spoke about Scheffler's quality following his first round, praising how "efficient" the World No.1 was as he shot an impressive 66.
"I think when they're playing with you it's hard not to notice. Scottie does such a good job of - it doesn't look like it's 6-under par, and then at the end of the day it's 6-under par," McIlroy said of his playing partner.
"He's just so efficient with everything. If you look at Scottie compared to the rest of the field, the amount of bogey-free rounds he plays and he shoots is phenomenal, and that's the secret to winning Major championships and winning big-time golf tournaments is more limiting the mistakes rather than making a ton of birdies."
McIlroy is clearly working on something, evidenced by being the last person on the range last night after his disappointing second round. He is currently working with Butch Harmon, who had this to say about McIlroy's wedge game on Sky Sports Golf's coverage of The Masters.
“The big, long backswing, the big, long follow-through. [The] ball flight was very high, we talked about the easiest way to control is to take the ball out of the air and bring the ball back down.
“If you look at all good short iron, wedge players, they’re not throwing the ball up here, they’re throwing it down here so the ball can go the exact distance they want it to go.
While I want to be positive (I really do), because I love McIlroy and would be overjoyed to see him win the career grand slam, it appears that as time goes on we are unfortunately moving further from that becoming a reality.
