What happens when a champion finally conquers his Everest? Sir Nick Faldo has an answer Rory McIlroy might not want to hear—and it involves Scottie Scheffler leaving him behind.

“It is like climbing Everest, you don’t turn around and say ‘let’s go up again next month.’ There was so much emotion at Augusta, and you cannot reproduce the emotion to win a Major like that again, so I think it will be tough for Rory to win another one.” Nick Faldo said when asked about McIlroy’s chances of winning another major. These comments of Sir Nick hit hard when you realize the one saying it has been through the same grind and pressure.

And he didn’t stop there; the six-time Major champion had more to add. Despite McIlroy’s historic 2025 Masters victory, completing his career Grand Slam, Faldo believes the Northern Irishman’s Major-winning days are over. Meanwhile, he’s backing Scheffler to dominate golf’s biggest stages for years to come.

Faldo knows what it takes to win Majors. He knows the mental toll. And he sees something troubling in McIlroy’s future. And, he spent 11 years chasing the Masters. Eleven years of what-ifs and near-misses at Augusta National. That burden was finally lifted in April 2025 when he defeated Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff. He dropped to his knees and wept openly on the 18th green.

Faldo was emotional watching it unfold. “I can’t speak, I’m done. Unbelievable,” he said on commentary. He even joked about wanting to give McIlroy a smack around the face for that—and a big kiss. But that emotional release might have cost McIlroy his competitive edge. Faldo explained his theory with brutal honesty.

The evidence supports Faldo’s concerns. McIlroy finished T47 at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, 14 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler. He managed just T7 at The Open Championship, never truly threatening the leaders. Eight months later, McIlroy admitted the Masters still brings tears.

“If I watch that final scene on the 18th green and I drop to my knees, it’s still hard for me not to cry,” Sir Nick later admitted. Adding to that, he said, “You dream about doing it, but you don’t dream about what comes next.”

That’s the existential void Faldo warned about. The goal that drove McIlroy for over a decade no longer exists. Now what?

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Scottie Scheffler’s choke-free dominance

Faldo sees the opposite trajectory in Scheffler. The 29-year-old American won two Majors in 2025—the PGA Championship by five shots and The Open by four. He led the PGA Tour in 28 different statistical categories. His scoring average of 68.13 topped the field. His Strokes Gained: Total of +2.743 meant he was more than a full stroke better than second-place McIlroy per round.

But the statistics don’t tell the whole story. Faldo praised Scheffler’s mindset above all else.

“Scottie seems to be very clear-headed right now. He’s in that wonderful moment where he trusts his game 100 per cent. It’s like Tiger was. Scottie’s in that lovely mindset and routine of going to every tournament thinking ‘how do I find a way to win this?'” Added Faldo.

That’s the critical difference. McIlroy needed emotional fuel to win the Masters. Scheffler treats tournaments like puzzles to solve. One approach burns hot and fades. The other sustains. By the way, analysts have weighed McIlroy’s transformative accomplishments against Scheffler’s statistical dominance throughout the season. Yet Faldo’s comparison cuts deeper than numbers.

“Whereas other guys are just trying to get to Sunday. Some guys are choking on Thursday, but Scottie is choke-free at the moment, which is amazing.” Reminded Faldo about Scottie’s game.

The age gap matters too. Scheffler, at 29, is entering his prime years. McIlroy at 36 is managing his legacy. Scheffler needs just a U.S. Open title to complete his own career Grand Slam. That hunger—that clear remaining goal—gives him the motivation McIlroy now lacks. And, history offers cautionary tales. Gene Sarazen completed the Grand Slam at age 33 in 1935 and never won another Major. Ben Hogan finished his at 40 in 1953 with the same result. Both men achieved their dream and couldn’t summon the intensity again.

Faldo predicted McIlroy faces a choice: “He’s either going to be disappointed that he’s won 10 or he is going to be ecstatic that he’s got to five.”

The implication stings. McIlroy climbed his Everest. Scheffler is still building his empire.