Golfing icon Jack Nicklaus admits he sees some of himself in Scottie Scheffler and has welcomed the world No 1’s growing rivalry with Rory McIlroy during a “blessed” period for the sport. 

Scheffler clinched his third major title with victory at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and has now reigned at the top of the rankings since March 27, 2022.

McIlroy has, meanwhile, started his year emphatically with wins at The Players Championship and The Masters, the latter seeing him complete the career Grand Slam.

The pair’s success has teased another of the great golfing rivalries, among which is that of Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Golf podcast, 18-time major champion Nicklaus likened himself more to the American.

“[I see myself more in] Scotty,” said Nicklaus. “First of all, Rory, the ball gets away from Rory right to left. Always has his career.

“He hasn’t corrected it, but he still has had a great career with it. But could he have had a better career if he’d gone a little bit the other way? I don’t know.

“Maybe yes, maybe no. But Scottie has learned at a fairly young age that keeping the ball in play [is key]. He’s long, he’s certainly long enough, as long as the rest of the guys. But he doesn’t try to be.

“He makes sure that he puts it in play so that he’s got a second shot to play. I think that wins golf tournaments more often than hitting it over the top of trees and so forth.”

McIlroy cemented his place in golfing immortality at Augusta last month when he held his nerve to beat Justin Rose in a play-off to secure his long-awaited green jacket at The Masters.

He had last won a major back in 2014, with his decade-long pursuit of another becoming one of golf’s most prominent storylines.

“I think that getting over the line and winning The Masters is probably more important than winning the Grand Slam,” said Nicklaus.

“I think that The Masters has been a bugaboo for him for 10 years. And I think that once he got The Masters behind him, the reward was the Grand Slam, so I’m very happy for him.

“It was great golf and I dropped him a note and said a guy who makes four double-bogeys and still has enough talent to overcome that is pretty special.”

With the spotlight on McIlroy, Scheffler responded in perfect world No 1-fashion by marching to victory at the PGA Championship in what marks the second leg of his pursuit of the career Grand Slam.

The two have long teased a back-and-forth rivalry on the course, with as much threatening to spark into life following McIlroy’s Masters feat.

“I think Rory has got himself back into it,” said Nicklaus. “Scottie has had it pretty much to himself for the last three or four years and he’s an awfully good player.

“He has a little unorthodox way with his footwork, but his path with the club is spectacular. And he knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows what he has to do and what he needs to do.

“He does a great job of that, controls the ball beautifully. I see some of the guys play today that amaze me. As hard as (Bryson) DeChambeau hits the ball, he amazes me that he can control it.

“Justin Thomas has been away from winning for a while. now he’s come back and playing better.

“Xander Schauffele won two majors last year. He’s not off to a great start this year, but we have so many good players in the game today. I think the game is very blessed.”

McIlroy will feature as part of a strong European Ryder Cup team when Luke Donald’s side defend their crown in New York in September.

“New York crowds are tough,” said Nicklaus. “They’re even tough for us [Americans]. But the Ryder Cup is a Ryder Cup.

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“It’s a great competition and the European team is very strong. Stronger probably than it’s ever been.

“But I think the US team is strong also. So we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. It’ll be a very interesting and fun match to watch.”

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