Rory McIlroy’s Strange PGA Tour Season Is About to Get Even More Weird

The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs begin Thursday at the St. Jude Championship in Memphis, where the top 70 players in the season-long standings will be teeing it up in the first of three postseason events.

One of the biggest names in the field is also one of the most surprising names in the field—Rory McIlroy. The No. 2 player in the world finished 12th in the FedEx Cup standings so he clearly should be in the event, but it was surprising to hear the news last week that he would be making the trip to Memphis.

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Just last month McIlroy made it seem like he would be skipping the St. Jude Championship like he did last year. He correctly stated that he’s pretty much locked into the Tour Championship, which will be played in Atlanta in a few weeks, and didn’t see a reason why he should bother playing in the first two playoff events.

Now, he’s ready to let it fly in Memphis.

McIlroy’s whole season on the PGA Tour has been a weird one. So far he’s played in only 11 events, which is well below the amount of tournaments many other big names have played in. Scottie Scheffler, for instance, has played in 17. Matt Fitzpatrick, the No. 3 player in the world, has played in 18. Then there’s Jordan Spieth, who has played in 21 events and will make it 22 this week after getting into the playoffs despite not having a top 10 finish this year.

Here’s a look at McIlroy’s finishes this year:

Tournament	Result
AT&T Pebble Beach	T14
Genesis Invitational	T2
Arnold Palmer Invitational	WD
Players Championship	T46
Masters	1
Truist Championship	T14
PGA Championship	T7
The Memorial	T12
U.S. Open	T32
Scottish Open	T7
British Open	T40

McIlroy has made it known that ever since winning the career grand slam at the Masters in 2025—and then backing that up with another win at Augusta in 2026—it has been hard for him to find the competitive juices he’s looking for in a lot of PGA Tour events. His heart rate seems to only get up for major championships, Ryder Cups and events on the D.P. World Tour that mean something special to him, like the Irish Open which he’ll be playing in next month.

“I think it just sort of ebbs and flows,” McIlroy said last month when asked why his enthusiasm for the PGA Tour has seemed down this year. “There’s been years where I’ve given [the PGA Tour] maybe more of my attention and years that I haven’t. Yeah, I guess I’m just at a stage that I have other things that I prioritize. Again, the PGA Tour is in a lot of flux at the minute with a lot of their schedule and structure and everything like that. So I think the change where it doesn’t matter where you are in the top 30 going into the Tour Championship, it’s like I just need to be in the top 30 going in there to have a chance to win a FedEx Cup. So why would I care about the first two? I sort of came to that decision last year, and I’m just sort of doing the same thing.”

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So it wouldn’t have been a surprise at all if he just skipped this week, and even next week’s BMW Championship in St. Louis. But that’s not the decision he has made, and while it’s great for golf fans who enjoying watching one of the best players in history competing against the top players in the game, one has to wonder just how into it he’s going to be.

The St. Jude Championship is a big-time event with lots on the line for the bottom half of the field since the top 50 players in the standings on Sunday night will live to see another week in the playoffs. McIlroy doesn’t have to worry about that at all. He’s going to be in all three postseason events and he could very well win the FedEx Cup for a third time later this month in Atlanta.

That is, if he really wants to try to win the thing.

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