Rory McIlroy has opted to skip the first of the three FedEx Cup Playoff events.
The Masters champion was not listed in the field for the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind, which begins next Thursday.
McIlroy, who finished T68 at last year’s tournament, has been enjoying a break since finishing T7 at last month’s final Major of the season, The Open.
Days after that performance at Royal Portrush, McIlroy was videoed in St Tropez in France, while he also visited Sunningdale to take in the final round of the Senior Open, which was won by his friend Padraig Harrington.
After The Open, McIlroy outlined his intentions to take a break from golf for a few weeks, saying: “I feel like being back in Europe for a bit was a nice reset. Yeah, I feel like I’m getting back to where I want to be, and we’ve still got a lot of golf left this year with obviously Ryder Cup being the big one in there in September.
“And just make sure I’m – I don’t want to play too much leading up to that because I want to be fresh. So I’m looking forward to a few weeks off here.”
Rory McIlroy struggled at the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The breather will now go on for at least another week, although it is unlikely to have a big impact on his involvement in the Playoffs further on.
McIlroy is second in the season-long FedEx Cup points standings behind Scottie Scheffler, with 3,444.
While an appearance at the FedEx St. Jude Championship would have seen that number increase, potentially even surpassing Scheffler with a win, he only needs to be in the top 50 of the standings by the end of the tournament to progress to the BMW Championship.
Even without participating in the event, McIlroy is assured of his place in the second of the three Playoffs, while he only needs to be in the top 30 after the BMW Championship to guarantee a spot at the finale, the Tour Championship.
Considering the lack of necessity for McIlroy to tee it up in the first Playoff, it is perhaps not surprising that he has opted to continue his break from competitive action, particularly given his upcoming schedule.
Following the Playoffs, McIlroy will be back in Europe in September for more golf, including the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship.
After that, it will be back to the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Latest from Golf Monthly…