Scheffler "excited" about game improvements as McIlroy looms in Masters betting

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is presented the Green Jacket by Jon Rahm at Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 14, 2024.

Scottie Scheffler could not "care any less" if he or Rory McIlroy is the Masters favourite and insists he's "excited" about the improvements in his game.

The world number one has two top tens and a worst finish of 25th in the five events he's played since returning late to action after puncturing his hand in a Christmas Day cooking mishap.

He's cut a frustrated figure at times as he comes off a nine-win season and remains winless so far in 2025. But he has no interest in who the bookies fancy for the green jacket next month.

"Well, believe it or not, I'm not gonna gamble on the Master Tournament, so I could not really care any less," Scheffler said when asked if he was happy to be the favourite or let McIlroy have that tag.

The injury delayed his start to the season, and while it's hampered his Masters preparations, he's seeing progress.

"I think it would be silly to say that it didn't set me back a little bit because I had to take a good amount of time off," Scheffler said in a teleconference.

"I'm a right-handed golfer. So any sort of injury you have to that hand, especially a surgical one, is going to have some sort of effect.

"But each day, my hand continues to improve. My body continues to get back to where it needs to be and I think my swing is coming around, as well. So I'm definitely excited about the improvements that I'm making."

He's clearly not in panic mode and described his results so far as "decent".

"I feel like I'm really close to playing some really nice golf again," he said. "I've got another good week of prep here at home and I felt like we learned a lot last week at Sawgrass.

"...And so I feel like I'm getting sharper and sharper and closer and closer as the season gets going for me, and I'm definitely excited about the events coming up."

Scheffler isn't the only player looking to back up an epic 2024 season.

World number three Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship and The Open, and after being out for nine weeks with a rib injury, he joins Shane Lowry and Séamus Power in the Valspar Championship in Tampa, looking to knock some rust off his game.

"Just need to get more reps," Schauffele said. "High bar was set after last year, and coming off of that season, I expected a lot of myself, and I still do now, even though it hasn't really looked like that."

There are 120 days to go before Schauffele has to return the Claret Jug and Royal Portrush is a big target for LIV stars such as Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed in the Asian Tour's International Series Macau in China, where three places in The Open are up for grabs.

"It's my favourite major, so I would love to be back in it, with not playing the last couple of years," Garcia said.

Tom McKibbin has already qualified for Portrush, but he returns to the DP World Tour for the first time since his LIV Golf move for the Porsche Singapore Classic, where he joins Conor Purcell and Scot Robert MacIntyre.

Lauren Walsh, Annabel Wilson and Anna Foster fly the flag in the LET co-sanctioned Ford Women's NSW Open at Wollongong as Alex Maguire and Liam Nolan play the HotelPlanner Tour's Delhi Challenge.

Meanwhile, Golf Ireland is offering clubs the option to increase or decrease the Playing Handicap allowances in competitions from April 1 or leave them untouched under the World Handicap System (WHS).

The change comes after a Golf Ireland survey suggested clubs wanted additional options to address issues such as lower handicappers struggling to compete in club competition.

It is being rolled out in Ireland with the agreement of the other Home Nations with a decision to come on rolling it out across GB&I fully in 2026