Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry might not add to their major haul this year, but they showed in Pebble Beach on Sunday that they’ve learned from their past mistakes under pressure and now have the maturity and the skills to make even more history in the game.

McIlroy’s mental game and strategy have always been his Achilles’ heel, while Lowry has not always had the patience to stay the course when his game, or the elements, conspire against him.

But on the evidence of their duel on the Monterey Peninsula, when McIlroy shot a 66 to Lowry’s 68 to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am by two strokes, the future is very bright indeed.

Watching Scottie Scheffler win 15 times over the past three years has been a wake-up call for the Co Down man, who has learned the hard way that he doesn’t always have to play the spectacular shot and that avoiding unforced errors and playing the right shot at the right time are timeless rules that he must follow if he’s to join the all-time greats and win the Masters.

“I think for me it's always the mental side of it,” McIlroy said in his post-round press conference. "That probably is the biggest barrier between me being good and being great.

“You know, for the most part, over the course of my career, I've had the physical attributes and hit the ball long and been able to do things that maybe some other guys aren't able to do.

“But it's sometimes been my mind or my thought processes held me back a little bit.… I think I'm much better equipped now to handle whatever is thrown my way.”

Watching Scheffler's rise to dominance has been eye-opening for the Holywood star, who wants to win at all the iconic venues but remains winless in the majors since 2014.

He now has Pebble Beach on his CV but St Andrews and Augusta National remain and while he now feels like “a very well rounded golfer” and is no longer the youngster who struggled to adapt to high winds, or hard and fast courses, he’s also learning how to play his cards right.

“You've got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run,” is a Kenny Rogers classic, and McIlroy knows that if he’s to become a true High Roller, he needs to forget about being a crowd pleaser when it comes to decision making.

“It's strategy and picking more conservative targets at times, and maybe picking more conservative clubs off tees,” said McIlroy, who opted to leave the driver in the bag at several key moments last night — at the fourth, 11th, 15th and especially the 18th, where he had a three-shot lead and opted for the five-iron.

McIlroy’s short game has been top drawer for quite some time and coupled with excellent putting, he’s now got the tools to win any event, providing he dominates the six inches between the ears.

“It’s the economy, stupid” was Bill Clinton’s key strategy when taking on George Bush in 1992.  

In McIlroy’s case, ‘it’s strategy, stupid’ and Scheffler’s rise has brought that painfully home,

“It's the strategy,” McIlroy admitted. “I’m a big admirer of Scottie's for a lot of different reasons, but every time I play with him and I watch how he plays and how disciplined he is, it's a really cool thing to watch. And I've alluded to it this week, but honestly, just trying to take a little bit of a leaf out of his book.

“I think when one of your peers has the year like he had last year, and honestly the year like he had in '23 as well, you start to take notice at what is he doing and what has made him or helped him separate himself from the rest of the fields…

“Scottie is and has been the best player in our game for the last couple of years. I feel like I’ve been close, but just not quite there. But that's motivating, that's motivating to try to get the best out of myself and yeah, try to become the best player in the world again.”

Last year’s US Open, where he got out of his comfort zone as Bryson DeChambeau was breathing down his neck and made strategic mistakes, such as pulling the driver at the 18th, might prove a watershed moment for McIlroy.

“It was the one that hurt the most,” he said last night. “Again, thinking of strategy and maybe those impulses that I talked about, hitting the right shot at the right time or being in a different place mentally, calming yourself down, using breathing exercises, whatever it is, I think the one thing that I did today really well is I didn't get too flustered.”

Playing boring golf might go against the grain, but McIlroy has realised it might be the only way to achieve his dreams.

“I do feel that connection to the crowd of hitting certain shots or doing certain things…- I get enjoyment out of them too, but people watching get enjoyment out of it also. But I also understand that that maybe isn't the best way to consistently win golf tournaments.

"At this point in my career that's what I want to do, I want to consistently win golf tournaments.  

“Ten years ago with a three-shot lead on the 18th hole here would I hit 5-iron off the tee? Probably not. Just understanding the scenario and what I needed to do, it was a different case today.”

Like McIlroy, Lowry knows all about regrets and still thinks about Oakmont in 2016, when he lost a four-shot lead and Dustin Johnson stole in to win the US Open.

He was disappointed he didn’t put up more of a fight when things went wrong and even though he won the Open in 2019, he left Troon last year with similar feelings as the weather conspired against him at the weekend and he lost his poise.

Yesterday, even when he played poorly on the front nine and looked in danger of failing to make the top 10, he dug deeper than ever.

“I think it goes to show a lot of the character of me and my game that I came out finishing second today and I'm proud of myself how I battled,” Lowry said..

“To come out here and then go head to head with Rory down the stretch, it's pretty nice. The older I get, the doubts do creep in every year if you still kind of have us at this level, when you go out there and I showed even without my best stuff what I was made of today, I'm pretty proud of myself.”
McIlroy was untouchable, but Lowry refused to hit the canvas.

“I said to my caddie walking up to the 14th green; let's make him win this; let’s not give it to him,” he said.
While Lowry had a putt at the 17th to go to the last just two behind and missed, the eagle McIlroy made at the 14th was the killer blow.

“He's just so in control,” Lowry said. “He drives the ball incredibly well, he always does. He was just in control of his ball today, and he putted nicely. It all came together. I think, like he said, if he cuts out his mistakes with his irons, he's very hard to beat.”