Xander Schauffele is backing Rory McIlroy to quickly add to his five majors now he has completed the Grand Slam by winning the Masters.
McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a play-off at Augusta National earlier this month to end a 10-year drought in the sport’s biggest championships and become just the sixth player to win all four majors in the men’s game.
“He is a generational talent and to do what he did is incredible for the game of golf,” said American Schauffele, who won The Open and US PGA Championship in a breakthrough 2024 in the majors.
“If that was something that was holding him back and now he feels free, that could be a pretty scary thing.
“He has all the tools. I’ve played against him when he’s firing on all cylinders and it’s not fun for me. It’s fun for everyone else to watch but it’s hard to beat.
“Would I be surprised if he started rattling [more majors] off? No. Am I going to be there to try and stop him? Absolutely.”
‘I’ve got no problem if it’s bad weather’
McIlroy’s next chance to add to his major tally comes next month in the US PGA Championship. It is being staged from 15-18 May at North Carolina’s Quail Hollow – a course he has won at four times.
He will then head to Oakmont in Pennsylvania from 12-15 June for the US Open. McIlroy has had six top-10 finishes in the tournament in the past six years, including being runner-up in the past two.
And when he arrives on the Antrim coast for the 153rd staging of golf’s oldest major from 17-20 July, he will find the vast majority of the record 278,000 spectators will be supporting both him and Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who won the title the last time it was held on the Dunluce Links in 2019.
The hype around McIlroy’s return to the scene of one of his most disappointing major results – his first drive of the championship careered out of bounds as he posted a quadruple-bogey eight on the opening hole before going on to miss the halfway cut – has only been heightened since his win at Augusta National.
Schauffele, who will return the Claret Jug to the R&A at the start of the week at Royal Portrush, is hoping to “use that to my advantage”.
“If I can cruise along and fly under the radar, that’s exactly what I’ll do,” he added.
The 31-year-old has drunk “wine and tequila” from the famous old trophy, which has spent most of the year with his parents because “dad definitely consumes more wine than I do”.
And the Californian is hoping for what he perceives to be traditional UK summer weather to buffet the course – lashing rain and howling wind – during the championship, as happened during his victory at Royal Troon last July.
“I’m from San Diego where [the wind] blows a blistering three miles an hour,” he smiled.
“When I think of Open Championship golf, I don’t think of it being sunny. I think of people wearing beanies hunkering down, trying everything they can with their caddie to overcome that war that you’re at with the golf course.
“It’s such a validating and rewarding feeling to do it. I’ve got no problem if it’s bad weather.”
