Xander Schauffele knows exactly what it takes to beat Rory McIlroy—and he'll have that chance this week at the Truist Championship. If he can outplay the Northern Irishman, the American believes his odds of winning the tournament skyrocket.

Last year, it looked like Schauffele was pulling ahead in their rivalry. He captured two major championships while McIlroy endured a decade-long drought without one. But the script has flipped dramatically over the past 15 months.

McIlroy has roared back, now a six-time major champion after winning back-to-back Masters titles. Since the start of the 2025 season, he's added four PGA Tour victories to his résumé. Meanwhile, Schauffele has gone major-less with just one PGA Tour win in that same stretch.

Because of their star power, Schauffele and McIlroy often get paired together on Tour. That means the 2024 Open champion has a front-row seat to McIlroy's game—and one aspect of it genuinely unsettles him.

"I mean, he hits—you know, I think at Augusta it was an impressive display," Schauffele told reporters Wednesday at Quail Hollow ahead of the Truist Championship. "His best club was his worst club, and he still won the tournament. That's a little scary, obviously, if you're competing against him."

Schauffele was referring to McIlroy's driver, which struggled at the Masters yet still carried him to victory. "But a week like this week, usually he's hitting his driver on most holes and it's his best club in his bag most times. It's a nice thing to watch him hit driver, and it's definitely a good property to be able to fly it about 330 yards on."

When asked about his own focus areas, Schauffele admitted he's zeroing in on one key aspect: "Yeah, I would say trying to stay on top of ball striking." For the two-time major champion, that might be the edge he needs to flip the script once again.