The gap between Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in the Official World Golf Ranking is now wider than the distance between McIlroy and every other professional golfer on the planet. Scottie Scheffler has his loyalists. And no matter what happens on the course, both fanbases have remained firmly in their corner. That loyalty has endured throughout the current season, even as the divide between the two stars has grown about as wide as it can get. At 97.6%, the points differential between the world’s top two players is larger than the gap between McIlroy and the remaining 9,000-plus players in the rankings combined.

“That’s approximately 6,000 golfers, by the way. 🤯,” Golf Digest posted on X alongside a graphic of Scheffler and McIlroy’s rankings. The gap between Scottie Scheffler (1) and Rory McIlroy (2) in the OWGR is now larger than Rory and every other professional golfer,” the graphic added. 

Scheffler, of course, sits comfortably at No. 1 with more than 743 OWGR points, while Rory McIlroy is a distant second with just over 376. And Scheffler’s dominance is hardly accidental. He has already won two PGA Tour events this season, along with five runner-up finishes and 12 top-10 finishes.

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McIlroy, by comparison, has won just once this year, although, to be fair, that one victory came at the Masters. Beyond that, his record includes only four top-10 finishes. Some may argue that the comparison isn’t entirely fair, given that McIlroy has made just 12 starts this season as part of a reduced schedule, while Scheffler has played 18 events. But that’s hardly Scheffler’s fault, is it?

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More importantly, McIlroy’s recent form has been far from convincing. He finished T32 at the U.S. Open, T40 at The Open Championship and 66th at the St. Jude Championship. Scottie Scheffler has had his own setbacks, including missing the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open, but he has remained remarkably consistent at the top, continuing to justify his place at the summit.

The numbers tell their own story. Scheffler’s 160 consecutive weeks at the top is a streak only Tiger Woods has surpassed, and his 2024 season ranked as the fourth-best in OWGR history behind three Woods campaigns. McIlroy’s 54-week peak looks increasingly distant by comparison. His current points average of 8.94 per event is less than half of Scheffler’s, a slide that tracks neatly with his own admission after St. Jude that he felt “lost” with his game.

On the FedEx Cup standings, the story is much the same: Scheffler leads, while McIlroy is down at No. 13. Regardless, neither player comes close to matching Tiger Woods’ record. Woods remains the all-time leader for the most weeks spent at the top in OWGR history, having held the position for a record 683 weeks.

Still, when Golf Digest highlighted the ranking disparity between Scheffler and McIlroy, fans were quick to pick sides.

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy’s fans collide

One fan was triumphant. “Remember when some big-talking head said Scottie was cooked after he stumbled for a month this season? Lmao,” the fan commented. Some doubts were raised about the World No. 1 because he hadn’t won a second tournament until last week.

Another suggested Scheffler should be handed the player of the year award. “He should win player of the year again,” the user wrote. Scheffler has already won it for four consecutive years.

Meanwhile, McIlroy’s supporters also chimed in. “1 major vs [none] this year, though,” the fan highlighted. However, the conversation isn’t about who won more majors. It’s about the sheer difference in the rankings despite that. 

Someone else posted: “Rory also plays way fewer tournaments.” So, does that mean Rory McIlroy has lost the motivation to reclaim the top spot?

Another claimed the points system is flawed. “The new way they do the points skews this, though.” And another added: “Insanity.”

That being said, fans remain divided over who is actually the better player. But sentiment does not move the needle on the OWGR. Until McIlroy commits to a fuller schedule and converts starts into results, the numbers will keep telling the same story: Scheffler is not just ahead, he is in a different tier entirely.