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 acknowledged that catching up with the world number one will require a level of consistency like Scotty Scheffler’s every week. The Northern Irishman will make his first PGA Tour start since Ryder Cup And return to the games he won last season.

Looking back on 2025, he admitted he felt he lacked consistency compared to Scottie Scheffler.

“If I had one criticism of myself last year, it would be that I didn’t have the consistency after the Masters that I probably wanted. I think some of that is understandable, but Scotty just finished in the top 10 for the 17th time in a row.”

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

“You look at him last week, he shot two in the first round and then he pieced it together again and found a way to have a chance to win on Sunday. He’s ruthless. I’ll never stop praising Scottie because he’s unbelievable at what he does and the way he does it.

“I’ve had great performances like that, but I’ve always been a little up and down. I think anybody who wants to catch Scottie or get close to him is going to have to play like he does week in and week out. He’s really the first guy since Tiger to do that.”

Scotty Scheffler’s data supports this comparison. He is already a 17-time PGA Tour winner and a four-time major winner, which is rare at his age. He joins names like Tiger Woods And Jack Nicklaus reached the milestone before turning 30.

Still, Scheffler himself has previously dismissed comparisons to Woods. After winning the Open title last year, he said:

“I just finished a quarter of the way there. I think Tiger is unique in the game of golf. He inspired me growing up. He’s a very, very talented guy, and he’s a special person to be able to do so well in the game of golf.”

Scottie Scheffler’s stellar performance continues to prove why he’s at the top of the list. He opened with a 73 at the WM Phoenix Open last week but followed with rounds of 65, 67 and 64 to finish third. He also won the American Express earlier this season at 18 under.

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 will begin on Thursday, February 12, between Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill.

Rory McIlroy will start his first round on the 10th tee at Spyglass Hill at 12:24 ET. He is grouped as Ryan Fox and their respective amateur partners Jeff Rhodes and James Dunn.

Scottie Scheffler will start his tournament from the first tee at Pebble Beach Golf Links at 1:29 p.m. he and Matsuyama Hidekiand amateur partners David Abeles and Brian Ferris.

Here’s the complete list of first-round tee times for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Pebble Beach – First Tee

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

Pebble Beach – No. 10 Tee

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

Spyglass Hill – First Tee

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

Spyglass Hill – No. 10 Tee

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