Signature Scroll: Why Scottie Scheffler thrives and Rory McIlroy struggles at Memorial

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Get your milkshakes ready, it's Memorial week ...

Muirfield Village's divergent paths ...

DUBLIN, Ohio – Muirfield Village is the site where the largest gap between the world's No. 1- and No. 2-ranked players rears its head.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has won the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday in back-to-back seasons. When he's here, he's the peak version of the dominant, unrelenting force that has dismantled the TOUR for 36 months running. While Jack Nicklaus' design manages to stifle 95% of the participants, Scheffler looks unbothered.

Rory McIlroy, well, hasn't done any of that. The Northern Irishman has won almost every tournament under the sun. This is one he hasn't. And, really, he's never come close. A tied-fourth finish is his best, and that took a late flurry of birdies just to vault into the top 10. Winning was never a real possibility.

"I haven't quite figured it out yet," McIlroy said. "It's frustrated me over my career. But hopefully this is the week that I put it all together."

In a world where the two are neck-and-neck atop the sport, Muirfield Village accentuates Scheffler's strengths and lays bare one of McIlroy's few weaknesses. McIlroy knows it, too.

"Fairways pinch in right around the spots where I would be finishing driver. So it's frustrated me in a way that I feel like my biggest weapon is in some way neutralized here," McIlroy said. "So it's just about me being a little more disciplined and not being so aggressive with my strategy."

In other words, patience is paramount. McIlroy has it often, but not consistently here. Scheffler has it in spades, everywhere.

"I would say my mind has always been one of my biggest strengths," Scheffler said. "... In golf you can be the guy who hits it the furthest and hits it the straightest, but you got to figure out a way to get that ball in the hole and some days it's a lot easier than other times."

McIlroy is fully capable of playing that golf, too. Will he this week? It is set up for an intriguing week, as both players covet the chance to shake Nicklaus' hand as the victor on Sunday afternoon. It's also the last prep both will have before the U.S. Open. Speaking of that ...

Playing through

🏆 Scottie Scheffler is going for the three-peat. Only one expert picked him … Here’s who they chose instead …

🤔 What are the most iconic moments in the 50 years of the Memorial? I went through them ...

⏩ Who is on the precipice of a late-season surge? I think a few will surprise you …

A look ahead …

Oh, to find yourself on the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club tee sheet.

I’d take it any day of the week, but particularly this past Monday when Scheffler and McIlroy played the famed William Flynn design in the Hamptons just two weeks before the U.S. Open.

Scheffler and McIlroy likely weren’t the only ones. It’s become commonplace for players to take scouting trips to the upcoming major venues to lessen the burden when the actual week arrives and it will likely be particularly popular for Shinnecock, widely considered the toughest venue on the U.S. Open rota. The golf course is always a fan fascination come U.S. Open time, which has a habit of going to some of the most exclusive and intriguing places in the country. Shinnecock will be the height of that discourse because of what happened last time we saw it in 2018, when Brooks Koepka won and the golf course teetered on the edge of playable.

So what did Scheffler and McIlroy think? We’ll start with the newbie. Scheffler did not play in ‘18, and this was his first time on the grounds. How did it compare to his perception?

“I was a little surprised at the width of the fairways, but the green complexes there are extremely difficult, and I think that's where the greatest challenge comes from. The rough, also, was a really good penalty, I think, for the width. Once you start missing fairways out there, you have no chance.”

Scheffler added, “They can put the pins wherever they want and make the scores as high as they could possibly want 'em to be.”

What about McIlroy? He voiced similar thoughts. The fairways are very wide, but if you miss by a yard, you’re in 5-inch-long rough. That’s good by him: “If you miss the fairway, I feel like you deserve a bad lie.”

What will really set the tone for the championship is the green speeds, which received the most criticism last time around. If Shinnecock can keep them firm, but manageable, McIlroy said, “It's one of the best championship tests in the country.”

File those thoughts away. I’ll be paying attention to the driving accuracy data from the Memorial. Sure sounds like you’ll need to play from the fairway.

Parting shots

🗣️ PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp spoke to a small group of reporters on Wednesday and provided an update on the future competitive model. I was there and wrote it up. You can read that here. The TLDR? Substantial progress has been made, but work remains.

🔥 Muirfield Village is perennially one of the toughest tests on TOUR. There are no signs of that changing this year. The Wednesday conditions already rival the firmness we often see on the weekends here. Buckle up.

🏃 A bunch of caddie news via Golfweek’s Adam Schupak … John Ellis (longtime caddie of Wyndham Clark) has left Tony Finau's bag and is now with Max Homa. Billy Horschel has also parted ways with his longtime caddie Micah Fugitt. Horshcel isn’t ruling out an eventual return, but for now, he’s working with veteran caddie James Edmonson.

🥤My milkshake count for the week: one … Ryan Gerard is a classic Oreo guy, FWIW.