PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy returns to action this week for the first time since the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Rory McIlroy says recent conversations with PGA Tour boss Brian Rolapp led him to rethink his decision to skip the first leg of the play-offs.
McIlroy controversially skipped the FedEx St. Jude Championship 12 months ago, explaining that the format gave him little competitive reason to play.
He was expected to do the same this year but U-turned on his decision, in part due to talks with Rolapp.
Rory McIlroy
“A few different things went into that decision,” McIlroy said.
“I think having four weeks off going into the last two events of the year was probably going to be a little too much for me in terms of wanting to be competitive.
“So this is a good week [to come back].
“Obviously I want to play well, but it’s also a good week to just see where my game is, do a lot of practice, or as much as I can in the heat.
“I think it’s important to be here. It’s the Tour’s play-offs, and I think it’s important for all the players to be here.
“I’ve had some good conversations with Brian Rolapp over the last couple weeks.
“I think it’s important for me to be here and show support and looking forward to teeing it up.”
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy will begin the FedEx Cup play-offs 12th in the standings, thanks mostly to his second Masters title and a share of second at the Genesis Invitational.
The 37-year-old has played a limited schedule this season and will continue to do so as he seeks balance in his life.
Despite questions over his motivation, McIlroy said he is keen to win the FedEx Cup for the fourth time in his career.
McIlroy previously won the FedEx Cup in 2016, 2019 and 2022.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is the overwhelming favourite to be crowned the champion and collect the $10m winner’s cheque.
“I almost try to view the playoffs as one big, long tournament, like a 12-round event,” said McIlroy.
“You’ve got to pace yourself. It’s three long weeks. We’re going from here to St. Louis to Atlanta. Every week is going to feel a bit like this.
“It’s going to be hot and sweaty. So you want to be able to conserve energy as well.
“I’ve always tried to treat it like one big, long golf tournament and sort of get into the rhythm of it and go from there.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do pretty well on these things over the years. So try to add another one to the list.”
FEDEX CUP STANDINGS
| Rank | Player name | Official points |
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler | 4,123 |
| 2 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 3,329 |
| 3 | Cameron Young | 3,161 |
| 4 | Wyndham Clark | 2,255 |
| 5 | Chris Gotterup | 2,254 |
| 6 | Collin Morikawa | 2,229 |
| 7 | Si Woo Kim | 2,201 |
| 8 | Sam Burns | 2,078 |
| 9 | Tommy Fleetwood | 2,046 |
| 10 | Ludvig Åberg | 1,929 |
| 11 | Xander Schauffele | 1,780 |
| 12 | Rory McIlroy | 1,738 |
| 13 | Jacob Bridgeman | 1,727 |
| 14 | Akshay Bhatia | 1,723 |
| 15 | Russell Henley | 1,706 |
| 16 | Ryan Gerard | 1,496 |
| 17 | Min Woo Lee | 1,470 |
| 18 | Kristoffer Reitan | 1,464 |
| 19 | Alex Fitzpatrick | 1,407 |
| 20 | Hideki Matsuyama | 1,399 |
| 21 | J.J. Spaun | 1,387 |
| 22 | Ryan Fox | 1,342 |
| 23 | Viktor Hovland | 1,340 |
| 24 | Justin Rose | 1,333 |
| 25 | Alex Smalley | 1,331 |
| 26 | Tom Kim | 1,244 |
| 27 | Gary Woodland | 1,238 |
| 28 | Rickie Fowler | 1,231 |
| 29 | Adam Scott | 1,218 |
| 30 | J.T. Poston | 1,193 |
| Top 30 reach Tour Championship | ||
| 31 | Robert MacIntyre | 1,191 |
| 32 | Nicolai Højgaard | 1,182 |
| 33 | Kurt Kitayama | 1,161 |
| 34 | Bud Cauley | 1,160 |
| 35 | Aaron Rai | 1,138 |
| 36 | Ben Griffin | 1,105 |
| 37 | Sepp Straka | 1,096 |
| 38 | Michael Thorbjornsen | 1,036 |
| 39 | Justin Thomas | 1,012 |
| 40 | Jake Knapp | 995 |
| 41 | Nico Echavarria | 942 |
| 42 | Patrick Cantlay | 932 |
| 43 | Ryo Hisatsune | 896 |
| 44 | Sahith Theegala | 891 |
| 45 | Eric Cole | 865 |
| 46 | Alex Noren | 859 |
| 47 | Michael Brennan | 857 |
| 48 | Matt McCarty | 838 |
| 49 | Keith Mitchell | 811 |
| 50 | Maverick McNealy | 806 |
| Top 50 reach BMW Championship | ||
| 51 | Harris English | 779 |
| 52 | Max Homa | 767 |
| 53 | Sungjae Im | 764 |
| 54 | Jordan Spieth | 762 |
| 55 | Sam Stevens | 741 |
| 56 | Pierceson Coody | 739 |
| 57 | Sudarshan Yellamaraju | 737 |
| 58 | Harry Hall | 733 |
| 59 | Corey Conners | 715 |
| 60 | Daniel Berger | 709 |
| 61 | Michael Kim | 695 |
| 62 | Shane Lowry | 670 |
| 63 | Nick Taylor | 646 |
| 64 | Jordan Smith | 627 |
| 65 | Brian Harman | 609 |
| 66 | Patrick Rodgers | 600 |
| 67 | Aldrich Potgieter | 591 |
| 68 | Ricky Castillo | 590 |
| 69 | Matti Schmid | 582 |
| 70 | Jackson Koivun | 581 |
McIlroy will have some considerable rust to shake off.
His putting coach, Brad Faxon, told the Sky Sports Golf podcast earlier in the week that McIlroy hadn’t hit a ball since the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.
McIlroy has spent the last four weeks relaxing on a family holiday with the Lowrys in Greece.
He was also spotted partying hard in a nightclub in Spain.
