Scottie Scheffler has not been on course for 2 months now. The last time we saw him was at the Presidents Cup in September. After such a long sabbatical, fans might wonder if his world no. 1 rank might be in jeopardy that he attained after such a spectacular season.

It seems that might be the case as other high-ranked pros are gaining in on him. We recently witnessed Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa partake in the 2024 Zozo Championship. And now another top-ranked player has reduced the deficit between himself and Scheffler.

Chasing down the world no. 1

Rory McIlroy will be seen teeing off at the 2024 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The DP World Tour playoffs will see him face off against 69 other pros to book their place in the finale. The top 50 players from the Abu Dhabi event will then progress to the final tournament of the season, the DP World Tour Championship.

The 2024 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner will be awarded 31/35 projected points. Comparatively, the PGA Tour event this week, the WWT Championship, will only offer 26/27 points. A victory will ensure that Rory McIlroy gains points on the OWGR leaderboard.

The world no. 3 will also qualify for the DP World Tour Championship, which will grant him the opportunity to earn more points. This will help him get closer to Scottie Scheffler on the leaderboard, but not quite override him.

The 30+ points from the DP World Tour event will help McIlroy reach a little over 400 points on the OWGR as he currently has 373.97796. He will still be behind second-ranked player Xander Schauffele, who has 453.00401 points. As far as Scottie Scheffler goes, the world no. 1 has almost double the points as Rory McIlroy, that is 721.08639.

So while a win might help McIlroy get close to Schauffele, he will still be far from reaching the top of the board. And while McIlroy will mostly be busy during most of the first month of 2025 with TGL, we will get to see world no. 1 back in action early next year. Where will that be? Let’s find out.

Scottie Scheffler’s schedule 2025

Scottie Scheffler will kick off next year by playing at the 2025 Sentry Championship. The tournament will be played from January 2–5, 2025. He will play the likes of Hideki Matsuyama, Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, and other top pros at the Plantation Course in Hawaii. Rory McIlroy will play in the tournament.

As Scheffler is not part of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL, he will be playing less as compared to his fellow players who are part of the league. That puts him at an advantage over any of his adversaries who are close to his rank.

Scottie Scheffler is also scheduled to participate in the Farmers Insurance Open at the Torrey Pines Golf Course. It will be played between January 22nd and 27th, 2025. Are you excited about watching Scheffler back in action? Do you think anyone can beat him for the world no. 1 spot? Share your views in the comments section.