Rory McIlroy is back in Memphis this week, one year after he bypassed the opening round of the PGA Tour playoffs in favor of some rest.
McIlroy said his inclusion at this year’s FedEx St. Jude Championships is a nod to not having played in recent weeks, but he also admitted to having some conversations with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp leading up to the tournament that begins Thursday at TPC Southwind.
At No. 2 in the FedExCup standings last year when the playoffs began, McIlroy knew he was not in danger of falling out of the top 50 that qualified for the second weekend of the three-week playoffs so he skipped the event.
But in punting on the opening round of the playoffs, it rankled PGA Tour officials, with Peter Malnati, the player director of the PGA Tour Policy Board saying that “stuff” might be in the works. The comment was assumed to be a nod to a potential rule change that never happened.
There is no such controversy this year surrounding the current No. 12 in the FedExCup standings.
“Yeah, a few different things went into that decision,” McIlroy said Wednesday about playing this week. “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 return).
“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.”
Personal reasons aside, McIlroy also admitted that a full field in the opening round of the playoffs is good for the PGA Tour.
“Yeah, I think it’s important to be here. … I think it’s important for all the players to be here,” McIlroy said. “I’ve had some good conversations with Brian Rolapp over the last couple weeks. Yeah, I think it’s important for me to be here and show support and looking forward to teeing it up.”
After skipping the Memphis event last season, McIlroy returned for the BMW Championship and finished in a tie for 12th. It sent him to the season-ending Tour Championship at Atlanta where he finished tied for 23rd.
While last season’s second weekend of the playoffs was at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., the middle round this year will be at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.
Going from Memphis to St. Louis to Atlanta in August means the playoff heat will be on in more ways than one.
“Yeah, the heat is … you know … it’s hot,” the Northern Ireland native said.
“Yeah, I think the weekend is going to be a little tougher than these last few days, but it’s fine,” McIlroy said. “We’re playing in (groups of two). We’re going to be out there for probably like four hours. It’s not like you’re in that heat for 5 1/2, 6 hours with a full field. So I guess that’s a positive.”
And while the golf courses might change over the next three weeks, McIlroy plans on stitching the upcoming run of golf together in one long stretch.
“I almost try to view the playoffs as one big, long tournament, like a 12-round event,” McIlroy said. “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.”
When the heat is on, McIlroy seems to know what to do.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do pretty well on these things over the years, so try to add another one to the list,” he said.
