Rory McIlroy skipped the FedEx St. Jude Championship last year, but this time decided to compete in the opening event of the PGA Tour playoffs to get over his long layoff.
It didn’t go well, with McIlroy sinking near the bottom of the tournament and facing criticism for his approach to the PGA Tour this year.
Rory McIlroy Finding Encouragement Despite Poor Finish
After skipping the Memphis event last year — and taking some criticism for it — McIlroy hit the course for his first competitive action since July. He has taken a light approach to the PGA Tour this season with some long absences, including earlier in the year when he skipped several events to practice at Augusta for the Masters.
That strategy worked, leading to a second straight Masters win for McIlroy, but the rust was more evident at the FedEx St. Jude Championship this weekend. He struggled through rounds of 74-70-72-72 for a 66th-place finish.
McIlroy said he was happy just to get back into competitive golf.
âI definitely felt like I found a feel out there that might work on the golf course,” McIlroy said, via the Guardian. “I hit some better shots coming in, for sure. Still a few loose ones as well, but five birdies coming in ⦠thereâs some signs of encouragement there.”
McIlroy had little on the line, having remained in the top-50 and an automatic berth in next week’s BMW Championship in St. Louis, Missouri. Still, the world’s No. 2 golfer said he had plenty of work in the coming week to prepare.
âTo me, itâs more about obviously the execution of what Iâm doing right now, and the execution wasnât there this week,â he said. âIâm going to have to sort of put the head down and grind from now until Thursday to try to feel like I have any sort of chance next week.â
Rory McIlroy’s Approach Questioned
McIlroy had already faced criticism for his long absences from the PGA Tour this year, with some of those questions intensifying after his poor performance at the FedEx St. Jude Championship this week.
Reporter Jordan Harris of HITC questioned whether McIlroy could keep up the motivation while taking such a light approach to the PGA Tour.
“On the course, McIlroy had built his season around the majors and the Ryder Cup for several years. Some PGA Tour and DP World Tour wins obviously meant a lot, but he was clearly aware that they were unlikely to impact his legacy,” Harris wrote.
“What he did not realise in the moment he secured sporting immortality on Augustaâs 18th green following a playoff with Justin Rose was just how difficult it would be to find the motivation once one of his biggest dreams had been realised.”
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