Rory McIlroy compares Scottie Scheffler to Tiger Woods ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Rory McIlroy said Scottie Scheffler’s consistency reminds him of Tiger Woods as he prepares to defend his title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Speaking in California, McIlroy admitted that catching the world No. 1 will require the same steady week-to-week level that Scottie Scheffler has shown. The Northern Irishman is making his first PGA Tour start since the Ryder Cup and returns to a tournament he won last season.

Looking back at 2025, he admitted consistency was the one area he felt he lacked compared to Scottie Scheffler.

“If I had a critique of myself last year, it is that I didn’t bring the consistency that I maybe would have wanted post the Masters. I think some of that is understandable, but Scottie just had his 17th top-10 in a row.”

Rory McIlroy pointed to Scottie Scheffler’s ability to recover from slow starts as a sign of that consistency.

“You look at him last week, he shoots two over in the first round and he just pieces it together again, finds a way, has a chance to win on Sunday. He’s relentless. And I’ll never stop singing Scottie’s praises because he’s incredible at what he’s doing and the way he does it.

“I’ve had nice runs like that, but I’ve always been a little more up and down. I think anyone that wants to catch Scottie or get anywhere close is going to have to consistently bring that sort of game week in and week out like he does. He’s really the first one since Tiger that’s doing this.”

Scottie Scheffler’s numbers support that comparison. He is already a 17-time PGA Tour winner and a four-time major champion, placing him among rare company at his age. He has joined names like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus in reaching milestones before turning 30.

Still Scottie Scheffler himself has previously brushed aside comparisons with Woods. After winning the Open Championship last year, he said:

“I just got one-fourth of the way there. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf. He was inspirational for me growing up. He was a very, very talented guy, and he was a special person to be able to be as good as he was at the game of golf.”

Form-wise Scottie Scheffler continues to show why he sits atop the rankings. He opened the WM Phoenix Open last week with a 73 but responded with rounds of 65, 67 and 64 to finish third. Earlier this season he also captured The American Express at 18 under par.

When will Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler tee off at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am?

The 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am begins on Thursday, February 12, with play split between Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill.

Rory McIlroy will start his opening round at Spyglass Hill from the 10th tee at 12:24 ET. He is grouped with Ryan Fox and their respective amateur partners, Jeff Rhodes and James Dunne.

Scottie Scheffler will begin his round at Pebble Beach Golf Links from the 1st tee at 1:29 p.m. ET. He is paired with Hideki Matsuyama, along with amateur partners David Abeles and Brian Ferris.

Below is the complete list of Round 1 tee times for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Pebble Beach – 1st tee

• 11:45 a.m. – Pierceson Coody and Hank Plain/Ryo Hisatsune and Edward Herlihy
• 11:58 a.m. – Si Woo Kim and Dan Rose/J.J. Spaun and Pat Battle
• 12:11 p.m. – Corey Conners and Jake Owen/Sam Burns and Charles Kelley
• 12:24 p.m. – Ben Griffin and Matt Horner/Shane Lowry and Jamie Sahara
• 12:37 p.m. – Aldrich Potgieter and Fred Perpall/Kurt Kitayama and Jin Roy Ryu
• 12:50 p.m. – Denny McCarthy and Nathaniel Taylor/Stephan Jaeger and Derek Larson
• 1:03 p.m. – Viktor Hovland and Bryce Currie/Akshay Bhatia and Guru Gowrappan
• 1:16 p.m. – Chris Gotterup and Murray Demo/Wyndham Clark and Anthony Noto
• 1:29 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler and David Abeles/Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Ferris
• 1:42 p.m. – Tom Hoge and Ping Duan/Sahith Theegala and Shantanu Narayen

Pebble Beach – 10th tee

• 11:45 a.m. – Joe Highsmith and Phillip McCrorie/Alex Smalley and BJ Jenkins
• 11:58 a.m. – Emiliano Grillo and Michael Xie/Michael Kim and Thomas Laffont
• 12:11 p.m. – Maverick McNealy and Chris Solomon/Russell Henley and Ted Fike
• 12:24 p.m. – Jacob Bridgeman and Stephen Reyes/Sepp Straka and Chris Reyes
• 12:37 p.m. – Max McGreevy and David Beam/Matti Schmid and Patrick Hamill
• 12:50 p.m. – Max Greyserman and David Solomon/Billy Horschel and Ron DeSantis
• 1:03 p.m. – Brian Harman and Bill Rogers/Rickie Fowler and Condoleezza Rice
• 1:16 p.m. – Andrew Novak and Philippe Lafont/Patrick Cantlay and Egon Durban
• 1:29 p.m. – Bud Cauley and Charlie Allen/Kevin Yu and David Hudson
• 1:42 p.m. – JT Poston and Lee Styslinger/Adam Schenk and Rob Light

Spyglass Hill – 1st tee

• 11:45 a.m. – Aaron Rai and Paul Salem/Min Woo Lee and Stu Francis
• 11:58 a.m. – Chris Kirk and David Kohler/Sami Valimaki and Donald Harrison
• 12:11 p.m. – Steven Fisk and Pat Monahan/Jake Knapp and Todd Wagner
• 12:24 p.m. – Jhonattan Vegas and Andrew Wilson/Nick Taylor and Greg Penner
• 12:37 p.m. – Brian Campbell and Kris Galashan/Sam Stevens and Jerry Tarde
• 12:50 p.m. – Michael Thorbjornsen and Jerry Yang/Nico Echavarria and Pau Gasol
• 1:03 p.m. – Cameron Young and Kelly Grier/Jason Day and Joe Kernen
• 1:16 p.m. – Harris English and Ralph LaRossa/Lucas Glover and Greg Henslee
• 1:29 p.m. – Harry Hall and Nikesh Arora/Keegan Bradley and Mary Meeker
• 1:42 p.m. – Taylor Pendrith and Barry Sternlicht/Rico Hoey and Jeff Paraschac

Spyglass Hill – 10th tee

• 11:45 a.m. – Alex Noren and Ernesto Bertarelli/Matt McCarty and Johno Harris
• 11:58 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre and Heidi Ueberroth/Tommy Fleetwood and Greg Johnson
• 12:11 p.m. – Xander Schauffele and Robert Isom/Jordan Spieth and Bob Sternfels
• 12:24 p.m. – Rory McIlroy and Jeff Rhodes/Ryan Fox and James Dunne
• 12:37 p.m. – Marco Penge and Julie Frist/Daniel Berger and Harris Barton
• 12:50 p.m. – Keith Mitchell and Travis Kelce/Mackenzie Hughes and Alex Smith
• 1:03 p.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick and Doug Mackenzie/Tony Finau and Ryan Smith
• 1:16 p.m. – Justin Rose and George Roberts/Patrick Rodgers and Chuck Schwab
• 1:29 p.m. – Collin Morikawa and Geoff Yang/Ludvig Aberg and Tom Nelson
• 1:42 p.m. – Ryan Gerard and Annesley MacFarlane/Garrick Higgo and Steve Young