Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm not golf’s new big three just yet
It is too early to anoint Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm as golf’s next big three, but they are getting top billing at the Augusta National this week with one of them likely to walk away at the end of the weekend wearing a Masters Green Jacket.
They occupy the top three spots in the world rankings and have dominated the season, swapping the No 1 spot while winning a combined six PGA Tour events, triggering chatter at 2023’s first major about a new big three for a new generation.
World No 3 Rahm, the 2021 US Open champion described such talk as premature, while world No 2 McIlroy, who needs a Masters win to complete the career Grand Slam of major titles, chuckled at the notion.
“I just had breakfast with Jon Rahm and that didn’t come up,” McIlroy said laughing, when asked if the three had discussed their dominance.
“It seems one of us three is popping up every week we play with a chance to win.
“Seeing those two guys consistently performing at that level just pushes me to be better.”
It may be absurd comparing Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, who combined for 34 major titles, to Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm but on current form the latter three are in a league of their own.
Rahm made a blistering start to the PGA season, the Spaniard claiming wins at the Tournament of Champions, American Express and Genesis Invitational.
Scheffler has been on a roll in the run-up to his Masters defence, winning in Phoenix and at the unofficial fifth major, the Players Championship.
McIlroy opened his campaign with victory at the CJ Cup and hoisted the trophy at the DP Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic.
“You can say that [the new Big Three] if we do it for at least five-plus years like many of those players did,” Rahm said.
“We have a very long way to go to be compared to something like that.”
World No 1 Scheffler put their domination down to consistency.
“If you look at a lot of the* leaderboards, we’ve been pretty close to winning most of the elevated events.
“A lot of that is just good, healthy competition.”
There are more established golfing stars to watch out for.
Three-time champion Phil Mickelson, who missed the Masters last year for the first time in 28 years as part of a self-imposed hiatus from the sport, said he was thrilled to be back.
Mickelson missed the first two majors of last year, including his title defence at the PGA Championship, as he stepped away from competition amid a backlash over comments he made about the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit, where he resumed his career in June.
Tiger Woods is the owner of five green jackets and myriad memories from his 24 previous Masters.
“Last year I didn’t know if I was going to play again at the time,” Woods said, referring to his return to competitive golf after his car accident.
“Everything kind of came together and I pushed a bit and was able to make the cut.