Scottie Scheffler is setting the bar for the rest of the field, said Rory McIlroy after the American's triumph at The Open.
Scheffler stormed to a four-stroke success at Royal Portrush on Sunday.
The world number one has now won four major titles, with two of those coming this year.
Indeed, the only major Scheffler is yet to win is the U.S. Open.
McIlroy finished tied for seventh on 10-under par, and this year's Masters champion says Scheffler is setting the standard at the top of golf.
"None of us could hang with Scottie this week," McIlroy told reporters.
"He's an incredible player. He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple of years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to.
"In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run like the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.
"He's a very worthy winner. Also, he's a great person, and I think he's a wonderful ambassador for our game as well."
Scheffler has now won 10 consecutive events in which he has led after three rounds.
Since the start of 2020, Scheffler leads all players for wins (four) and top-10 finishes (16) at major championships.
He has four wins and 13 top-10 finishes this year, making the top 10 on each of his last 11 outings since the Players Championship in March (T20).
"I think all you can do is admire what he does and how he does it," McIlroy continued.
"I think what he does is one thing, but how he does it is another. He just goes about his business, doesn't do anything overly flamboyant, but he's the best at executing in the game right now.
"Yeah, he's been absolutely amazing over these past two to three years. As I said, all you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration."
After winning the Masters in April, McIlroy was tipped to conquer more majors this year, but that has not proved to be the case.
However, a strong performance at the Scottish Open was at least followed up by some excellent play across the weekend in his native Northern Ireland.
"All I can do is focus on myself and try to play the best golf that I can. I know that, when I do that, I'll have my weeks where I'll contend and hopefully win," he said.
Xander Schauffele, who won The Open in 2024, finished level with McIlroy, and he believes Scheffler is worthy of a comparison to the great Tiger Woods.
"I think people are shy to say it, but he's doing Tiger-like stuff. He's extremely dominant," Schauffele said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
"When you see his name up there, you're like 'great ', there is that sort of sentiment. He's been playing incredible golf."
Reflecting on his title defence, Schauffele added: "I tried my very best, a little deflated today, better scores were out there, frustrating day on the greens.
"There's nothing quite like going up on any tee box or green and you get some sort of applause, it's an awesome feeling for us players."
