Rory McIlroy couldn’t resist taking a playful dig at Scottie Scheffler before the Players Championship kicks off.

Fresh from his T15 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, McIlroy is gearing up for action at TPC Sawgrass, where he clinched victory in 2019. Meanwhile, Scheffler, who came in T11 at the API, is aiming to make history by winning the event for the third year running—a feat no golfer has achieved before.

Rory McIlroy had a cheeky remark thrown Scottie Scheffler’s way as the latter prepared for the Players Championship (Image: X: @PGATour)

Scheffler has already made his mark as the first player to win the Players Championship consecutively, and another win would see him join Steve Stricker as only the second golfer since 2009-11 to triumph at a PGA Tour event three years in a row. As Scheffler sets his sights on further glory, McIlroy seems intent on throwing the world No. 1 off his stride.

In a video shared by the PGA Tour’s social media, McIlroy can be seen observing the American during practice. Following Scheffler’s drive on the range, McIlroy quipped as he passed: “Keep doing that, Scottie. You’ll be OK.”

While the comment might seem like light-hearted banter, it could also be a strategic move by the 35 year old to psych out his rival ahead of the tournament.

Scheffler, McIlroy, and Schauffele, the top three golfing titans, are set to join forces as a power trio in the first couple of rounds at the Players Championship. They will be aiming to trump their performances from the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where Schauffele came in at T40.

Rory McIlroy threw a playful jab Scottie Scheffler’s way as he practiced for the Players Championship ( Image: Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

McIlroy isn’t wasting time upping his game for the showdown at TPC Sawgrass, having made changes to equipment ahead of the tournament. “I led strokes gained: off the tee in both Pebble and Torrey, so it was a really good idea to change

“I tried new woods for the first three days, didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to. So, yeah, I went back to my old stuff. Driver, fairway wood, everything. I’ll see how next week goes and then, just sort of see what I feel like and what I think I need.

“I think it [Augusta] is just going to be a little bit different this year. There’s some areas of the course that are maybe a little thinner tree-wise, just with the hurricane that rolled through. The 16th is new green, so yeah I’ll probably go up there once or twice beforehand.”