Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Few people have been as close to both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as Keegan Bradley. His history with McIlroy ran through a Medinah singles defeat and Bethpage Black, where he watched from the captain’s chair as McIlroy helped dismantle his U.S. side in a 15-13 loss. But what Bradley is saying now, after watching McIlroy as a teammate in TGL, will surprise you.
When asked how McIlroy is as a teammate, Bradley did not offer a measured, diplomatic response. He said exactly what he felt: “It’s great when he’s a teammate. And when he’s on the other side, it’s tough. I can’t tell you how good this guy is. Everything he does, I’m just watching it. I can’t believe it. Like when you watch Scottie play, he’s so talented.” Then came the contrast: “But Rory, he hits a driver. And you’re like, holy cow..He’s one of the longest players on the tour.”
How good is Rory McIlroy 👀 pic.twitter.com/ATguIfKGce
— Games with Names (@gameswithnames) February 28, 2026
What makes that observation land is the numbers behind it. McIlroy, who sits at World No. 2 just behind Scottie Scheffler, averaged 336.7 yards off the tee at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February 2025, outdriving the second-longest hitter that week by 17 yards. He led the entire PGA Tour in driving distance in 2023 with a 326.3-yard average, the longest single-season average in Tour history. Bradley is not exaggerating when he calls Rory one of the longest on tour.
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Notably, that warmth toward Rory McIlroy is interesting when you consider Bradley’s relationship with Scheffler. In 2025, Bradley publicly praised Scheffler as a person more than as a player. He called him a natural leader who scored 37,000 Ryder Cup points, which was 10% of the team’s total.
What Bradley said now is very different when you look at the history of both golfers.
At the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah, they were on different teams. McIlroy beat Bradley in singles as part of Europe’s famous comeback. Then, at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, McIlroy said in front of everyone that Bradley could have done more to stop a crowd from yelling insults at him and his family. Bradley never directly responded to this. Since then, the situation has clearly changed.
And that shift is visible in how Boston Common has performed in TGL S2. Rory McIlroy’s aggressive driving helped the team get off to fast starts in the triples format. Boston beat Bay GC 9-1 and NY GC 9-2. The team was in the top three of the standings until the end of February, which was a big change from Season 1, when they didn’t win any games. McIlroy brings the firepower, and Bradley gives the structure. His iron play and consistency in alternate-shot holes let Rory go on the attack.
Bradley made that motivation clear: “Playing for Boston means something to me. I want to represent the city. I want to represent the region.”
That combination, one player who stuns you with ability, another who holds things together with purpose, has quietly made Boston Common one of the more compelling teams in TGL this season.
For the US Captain, the 5x major champ might be the best, but on paper, the OWGR tells the opposite.
The Scottie Scheffler– Rory McIlroy divide: What the OWGR numbers reveal
In January 2026, analyst Jason Sobel pointed out a shocking OWGR number: Scottie Scheffler was getting about 16.96 points per event, while Rory McIlroy was getting about 8.56. The difference of about 8.4 points was the same as the distance between McIlroy and players ranked far below the top tier.
The gap hardly changed by the end of February 2026, after more PGA Tour events. McIlroy stayed in the mid-8 range, while Scheffler’s average stayed around 16.5 OWGR points per event. On paper, the world No. 1 was still getting almost twice as many ranking points per start.
That statistical difference makes Bradley’s words more important, not less. With 29 career wins, almost $108 million in earnings, and three wins in 2025 alone, McIlroy should be in any discussion about the best players in the world. But Scheffler’s numbers for 2026 are on a whole other level.
The rankings show that separation. Scheffler gets about 16.5 OWGR points for each event, which is almost twice as many as the Northern Irishman, who is in the mid-8 range. But in a team format like TGL, where one aggressive drive can change the game, McIlroy’s explosive ceiling still makes him the most dangerous player on the simulator floor.
