Rory McIlroy didn't take the playoffs seriously and paid the price

Rory McIlroy plays his shot from the seventh tee during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship golf tournament. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rory McIlroy didn't take the playoffs seriously and paid the price

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated Aug 17, 2026 11:45 AM ET

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Rory McIlroy is a three-time FedEx Cup champion, but he didn't show much interest in winning a fourth this year. The World No. 2 played only four tournaments since the PGA Championship in May and took a full month off before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, leading to his worst performance of the season.

At the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, McIlroy shot 8-over par over four rounds to finish in 66th place. Only two players — Sahith Theegala (+11) and Akshay Bhatia (+13) — finished worse than McIlroy in the 68-player field.

The stats were even worse. McIlroy lost strokes in all four major categories for the first time in his last 26 starts. He lost a whopping 3.74 strokes from off the tee, the third-worst mark in the field at TPC Southwind.

It was an uncharacteristic performance for one of the best drivers in the world, but what did he expect? McIlroy hadn't played competitive golf in a month leading up to the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and he hardly practiced during his time off. Of course he was going to be rusty in his return to action.

A contrite Rory McIlroy discussed his lack of preparation ahead of the Fed Ex Cup playoffs after finishing 66th of 68 players at 8-over, "Obviously I didn't come in here with a tonne of reps and I almost felt like the more the week went on the more I felt lost with my golf… pic.twitter.com/OhImOw7xL3
— Chris McKee (@mrmckee) August 17, 2026

"Obviously, I didn't come in here with a ton of reps," McIlroy said after the final round, per Sky Sports. "I felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing. Figured it out a little bit the last few holes today, but my swing wasn't in sync, and I didn't do a ton of practice coming in here."

Rory McIlroy drops in standings after poor finish

Due to his poor finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, McIlroy dropped to 13th in the FedEx Cup standings with only two events remaining. He'll need to find some answers soon if he wants to contend for the $10 million prize. Unfortunately for the Northern Irishman, it might be too little, too late.

"I guess nice to shake the rust off a little bit, but I'm going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week," he said.

Jack Dougherty

Jack Dougherty has been writing professionally since 2015, contributing to publications such as GoPSUSports. com, Centre Daily Times, Associated Press, and Sportscasting. com

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