When Scottie Scheffler won the Player of the Year, a Scheffler vs Rory McIlroy debate erupted. While many golfers would take a neutral stand on this one, John Daly has a clear winner in mind. He comes down firmly on the World No. 1’s side, stating that he clearly had a better season than the Northern Irishman.

“I’d have to go with Scottie. I mean, Scottie’s won a few more, and then he won two majors this year. You have to go with Scottie,” John Daly said in an exclusive interview with Hard Rock Bet.

John Daly is Hard Rock Bet’s ambassador. He was also part of the Hard Rock Bet Party campaign alongside Mike Tyson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ray Lewis, and others. His stance is clear: the golfer with more wins has had the best season, according to him.

Rory McIlroy has had an amazing year. He fulfilled his dream of winning the Masters and completed his career Grand Slam. Besides that, he won the Irish Open for the second time on the DP World Tour. On the PGA Tour, he had two more wins, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players Championship. The 5x major champion also helped the European Ryder Cup team secure an away win for the first time since 2012. This brings his total to 4 wins, which includes the Masters.

While Scottie Scheffler doesn’t play on the DP World Tour, he managed to secure six wins on the PGA Tour alone. This includes two major championships, which are the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. Besides that, he also won the Procore Championship, the BMW Championship, the Memorial Tournament, and the CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

Although McIlroy fulfilled his dream at the 2025 Masters, John Daly says the two Major championships should outperform each other. He also overshadows the career Grand Slam winner’s 2025 season by two more wins in total. This also led to the decision to hand Scottie Scheffler the PGA Tour Player of the Year award.

Many golf media agencies opposed this. The Irish Times, for instance, said that Rory McIlroy was hard done by. “Yes, Scheffler had a great year, but McIlroy’s had more about it,” The Irish Times wrote.

The debate may continue, and clearly, both golfers had an amazing year in their own way. But John Daly has picked his side. And it’s not just against Rory McIlroy. The 2x major champion says that Scheffler could also match Tiger Woods.

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John Daly’s take on Scottie Scheffler-Tiger Woods debate

John Daly admitted that Scheffler’s putting, chipping, ball-striking, and winning mentality are excellent. “He’s [Scottie] still young. I mean, there’s no telling,” Daly measured his response. “The way he’s been playing, there’s always that chance.”

The 2021 PNC Championship winner referred to Scottie Scheffler’s dominance on the PGA Tour. Last year, he won 7 events; this year, 6. Collectively, he holds 19 PGA Tour titles. However, it is still very far from Tiger Woods’ 82 PGA Tour wins, including 15 majors. But as Daly pointed out, there’s always a chance.

It will likely depend on one more factor apart from his skills and continued dominance. The 19x PGA Tour winner’s health will be a crucial deciding factor. If Tiger Woods had stayed in the right shape, he could have easily surpassed Sam Snead’s 82x win tie. But there were a significant number of surgeries and other health issues to hinder his progress. If Scottie Scheffler is to face any such challenges, it will be very difficult for him to even get close.

But on the other hand, if Scheffler maintains his health, prevents any injuries, and continues to dominate, there’s no saying what could happen.