Rory McIlroy makes major decision on FedEx Cup Playoffs

Rory McIlroy is expected to skip next week's FedEx St. Jude Championship, the opening event of the 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs.The World No. 2, who already skipped this week’s Wyndham Championship, hasn’t made an official announcement, but signs point toward a planned absence.

The news was shared by Underdog Golf on X, reporting that the Northern Irishman won't be teeing it up in Memphis. The post read,

Rory McIlroy not playing next week's FedEx St. Jude Championship.

The event is set for August 7–10 at TPC Southwind, but McIlroy had hinted last year that he might skip it. Speaking to The Telegraph in November 2024, he said:

“I’ll probably not play the first playoff event in Memphis. I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year and only moved down one spot in the playoff standings.”

Rory McIlroy currently sits second in both the FedExCup standings and the Official World Golf Ranking, just behind Scottie Scheffler. With the top 50 players after the St. Jude advancing to the BMW Championship the following week, McIlroy is already locked in. From there, the top 30 will move on to the Tour Championship.

His decision to sit out the St. Jude may also have been influenced by the PGA Tour’s recent format change. The strokes-based advantage at the Tour Championship has been removed, so all players will now start at even par. This means early playoff events are less important than they used to be.

The 36-year-old hasn’t played since his T-7 finish at The Open Championship two weeks ago. He has played only 14 events in 2025 as part of a lighter schedule, but has made the most of them with three wins at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Players Championship, and the Masters, where he beat Justin Rose in a playoff to complete his career Grand Slam.

The Northern Irishman has also secured one runner-up finish, eight top-10s, and 12 top-25s while missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open. In total, he’s earned over $16 million this season.

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Rory McIlroy's history at the FedEx St. Jude Championship

Rory McIlroy has had mixed results at TPC Southwind over the years. He missed the cut in 2022, bounced back with a tied-third finish in 2023, but struggled badly in 2024, finishing tied for 68th, second to last alongside Jordan Spieth at nine-over-par. Hideki Matsuyama won the 2024 edition of the tournament.

His 2024 performance was one of the worst of his playoff career. Statistically, it marked his worst-ever week off the tee (-4.015 strokes gained driving), the 21st-worst in approach play (-3.126), and his third-worst putting week (-7.833).

Rory McIlroy has won the FedExCup three times, most recently in 2022. Only Tiger Woods has more than one FedExCup title besides McIlroy, with wins in 2007 and 2009.

Edited by Tushhita Barua