Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy said he feels “far away from where I need to be” after a 2-over 72 saw him finish 66th out of 68 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
The world No. 2 acknowledged his swing was off and explained that he felt “lost” as the tournament progressed at TPC Southwind.
“Obviously didn’t come in here with a ton of reps,” said McIlroy, who hadn’t played since last month’s Open Championship and failed to break par in any of his four rounds on the par-70 layout. “[It] almost felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the seventh tee during the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind on Friday, August 14, 2026, in Memphis, Tennessee. Getty Images
“The swing wasn’t in sync and obviously I didn’t do a ton of practice coming in here. I’m so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance. I’ve just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit.”
McIlroy will compete in this week’s BMW Championship, the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs, at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.
The 37-year-old pro — who won The Masters in 2025 and ’26 — is assured for the 30-man season-ending Tour Championship later this month at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., where he will look to secure a fourth FedEx Cup title and his first since 2022.
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits from the 10th fairway during the third round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament on Saturday, August 15, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. AP Photo/George Walker IV
“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,” McIlroy said.
“To me it’s more about obviously the execution of what I’m doing right now, and the execution wasn’t there this week. I’m 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 [at Bellerive].”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler recorded an eight-shot victory to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship, his first event since January.
