PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The first of their duels was an epic. It was also, surprisingly, their last.

When Rory McIlroy chased down Scottie Scheffler at the 2022 TOUR Championship to win his third FedExCup and rob Scheffler of his first, it portended to be the opening salvo in a lengthy battle between the best player of this generation (McIlroy) and one of the premier young talents looking to unseat him (Scheffler).

Part of that came true.

Scheffler has evolved into the undisputed best player in the world with McIlroy the only player within arm’s reach of him.

They are Nos. 1 and 2 in pro golf, and No. 3 isn’t close.

Yet, this “rivalry” has largely progressed on divergent paths. Scheffler and McIlroy are the two dominant players of the last five years, yet you can count the number of tournaments they’ve truly dueled down the stretch on a few fingers. There was that TOUR Championship, of course. But McIlroy and Scheffler have only played together in the final round with real stakes one other time – the 2023 U.S. Open – and both players left unhappy that day with Wyndham Clark holding the trophy. They’ve finished first and second once before, the 2022 Masters, but that was a runaway Scheffler victory with McIlroy’s runner-up far more ceremonial than substantive.

It’s a strange phenomenon. You can hardly go one tournament where one of Scheffler or McIlroy is not a major factor on the weekend, but you also have to wrack your brain for moments that felt like they were both factors, pit against one another down the stretch.

Will that all change at THE PLAYERS Championship this week? The duo seem to be on a collision course to rectify it. The stage is set.

Let’s start with the history.

Only Jack Nicklaus has won THE PLAYERS three times, and he did it before the tournament was hosted at TPC Sawgrass. No player has done it since the tournament moved to its iconic home in 1982.

Most notably, Tiger Woods won it twice. Scheffler and McIlroy account for the last three THE PLAYERS victories. Scheffler won it back-to-back in 2023 and ‘24 before McIlroy earned his second THE PLAYERS last year. Both would become the first player in the modern era to make it to three.

That’s no small feat as Scheffler and McIlroy chase varying levels of history. Both have cemented a legacy that will live on well past their playing days. What’s left to achieve is how many records they can put their name next to.

Then there’s the circumstances.

Since THE PLAYERS moved back to March in 2019, only the elite of the elite have won. Scheffler and McIlroy are the biggest benefactors. They both won twice. The only other two winners were Justin Thomas and Cameron Smith. The change suits their games well. With the tournament two months earlier than before, the course plays much longer – right into the hands of the best drivers and best iron players. McIlroy is the best driver in the world and Scheffler is the best iron player. If ever there was a venue that would draw the best out of both of them at the same time, it’s TPC Sawgrass.

Then there’s the form.

The last time both of them played in an event at the same time and neither finished in the top 10 was more than a year ago. They rank first and third in scoring average this season.

Scheffler has picked up right where he left off. He won his first start of the year, The American Express, and finished top five at both the WM Phoenix Open and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. If not for poor first rounds, he easily could have won both. The same could be said for The Genesis Invitational, where another mediocre first round sunk his chances. He shot the lowest score over the final 54 holes but finished in a tie for 12th.

McIlroy has made only three starts on TOUR this year, though there’s enough there to believe he’s in position to win again at TPC Sawgrass. He led the field in driving through 36 holes of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard before he withdrew with a back injury. He played in the final pairing on Sunday at The Genesis Invitational and nearly made a late charge to beat Jacob Bridgeman. And in his title defense at Pebble Beach, McIlroy led the field in birdies and was undone by a few big numbers that he’s eliminated in his two starts since.

The lone question is McIlroy’s health, which looms large over the start of THE PLAYERS.

He felt a “twinge” in his back while warming up for this third round at Bay Hill last week. When he went to the range, the pain worsened and forced him to withdraw for only the second time in his 19-year pro career.

Was it merely a precaution to make sure he’s ready for title defenses at TPC Sawgrass and Augusta National next month? Or are there real long-term concerns?

Assuming good health, THE PLAYERS is set to finally break this weird streak.

Scheffler and McIlroy have played together 20 times in their career, but only three times in a final round, and only twice did they begin those Sundays with a legitimate chance to win for both parties. Never mind being paired together, there have only been five instances in the past three years where both players began the final round in the top five. Of those tournaments, the eventual winners include Clark and Kurt Kitayama. Hardly the spectacle you’d expect with Scheffler and McIlroy in the mix.

There have been outside opportunities.

McIlroy was tied for fourth, six strokes back of Scheffler, to begin the final round of The Open Championship last year. But Scheffler never stumbled and ran away with the tournament.

In the early stages of last year’s Masters, it seemed the two were heading for a duel. But Scheffler stalled on Saturday and was seven shots back of McIlroy entering the final round. Scheffler finished only three shots back of McIlroy, but that makes it seem closer than how it played out in that wild, historic Sunday at Augusta National.

Scheffler and McIlroy were both four back of Jon Rahm at the 2024 Olympics. Each made Sunday charges, but only Scheffler sustained. A costly double bogey on the 15th hole sunk McIlroy, while Scheffler made birdie, the second of four consecutive, to win gold in Paris.

Despite their lack of head-to-head battles, the golf world has been spoiled by their greatness. That doesn’t mean we can’t ask, or dream, for more. If it’s going to happen sometime, this week at TPC Sawgrass seems as fitting as any.

The only thing missing from their resumes is a decisive win over the other.