Rory McIlroy has reversed his stance
Rory McIlroy has had a change of heart regarding the FedEx Cup by entering the opening leg of this year’s Playoffs. The world number two faced criticism 12 months ago for missing the first FedEx Cup event, as it had no bearing on his ranking position and provided an opportunity to rest before the Ryder Cup.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs is the culmination of the PGA Tour season. Throughout the regular campaign, players accumulate points based on their tournament performances.
When the regular season wraps up in August, the highest point earners qualify for a three-tournament playoff series that crowns the overall season champion.
The opening Playoff event, the St Jude Championship, features a field of 70 competitors. For the second event, the BMW Championship, this is reduced to 50.
Then, for the Tour Championship season finale, the field comprises the top 30 players on the list, reports the Mirror.
McIlroy heads into this year’s Playoffs sitting in 12th position, with his place in the Tour Championship essentially guaranteed even if he opts out of the first two events. As recently as last month’s Open Championship, McIlroy indicated he was willing to skip the initial Playoffs events and challenged the format in a direct message to PGA Tour officials.
Prior to last year’s Playoffs, the Starting Strokes format, which favoured players higher up the standings, was scrapped. It had seen the leader begin on 10 under par, while players ranked 26th to 30th on the list started on level par.
McIlroy stated at The Open: “I guess I’m just at a stage that I have other things that I prioritise. 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.”
Despite his earlier stance, McIlroy has had a change of heart and entered the St Jude Championship. He will be competing alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler, who topped the regular-season leaderboard and pocketed a £7.4million bonus in the process.
This marks the first occasion since 2021 that McIlroy will enter the opening leg of the Playoffs outside the top 10 in the standings, though it would be premature to discount the Masters champion’s chances.
In a development likely to appeal to McIlroy, the PGA Tour is set to introduce a two-tier structure from 2028. A revamped Tour Championship will be held at a “rotation of prestigious courses, many of which the PGA Tour would play for the first time,” according to the Tour.
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