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Rory McIlroy has had another busy schedule this season. But this week he found a way to reduce his workload.
McIlroy chose to jump St. Jude Championship over at TPC Southwind in Memphis, much to dismay for at least one PGA Tour organizer. Peter Malnati, a player director of the PGA Tour Policy Board, said he was “very concerned” by McIlroy’s decision.
FedEx St. The Jude Championship acts as the first part of the playoffs. The BMW championship is the second stage of the playoffs, while the Tour championship later this month in Atlanta ends 2025 after the season.
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Rory McIlroy goes off the first tee during the first round of the US Open Golf Tournament. (Charles Leclaire-Preferred Pictures)
McIlroy’s choice seemed to encourage PGA Tour officials to mull a rule change that could mathematically lock into certain players for the second and third playoffs.
2025 FedEx st. Jude Championship Field: Full List of golfers for first legs of playoffs
McIlroy and PGA Tour Playoff’s top-notch golfer Scottie Scheffler accumulated so many points from events throughout the season that their prospects would keep them within the top-50 and top-30 thresholds that the upcoming tournament mandate mandate. The Tour Championship in East Lake in Atlanta brings this year’s top 30 players together for a shot at the FedEx Cup Trophy.
Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the eighth hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open Golf Tournament. (Dan Hamilton/Imag- Pictures)
Malnati suggested that a rule change may have been on the horizon. “I think there are things in the works and I leave it to it,” he told Golfweek.
Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth pushed back against the idea of McIlroy’s actions will be the start of a trend for other players. Spieth previously served as PGA Tour Policy Player Director.
“You may have 1-2 guys to make it an event, but I don’t think it will be a thing because they are still huge events against the best players in the world,” Spieth said. “I think they are trying to figure out how to make sure you don’t skip both of them and ideally none of them.”
McIlroy’s absence was not entirely unexpected, considering that he previously suggested that he was considering skipping this year’s St. Jude Championship.
Rory McIlroy goes away from No. 13 Green during the first round of the Masters tournament. (Katie Goodale/Imag- Pictures)
“There are a couple of tournaments that I played this year that I usually don’t play and that I may not play next year,” McIlroy told The Telegraph in November 2024.
“I played the cognizant in Palm Beach Gardens, [the Valero Texas Open in] San Antonio and [the RBC Heritage at] Hilton Head. And I probably won’t play the first playoff event in Memphis. I mean, I finished basically dead there late this year and only moved somewhere in the playoffs. “
Despite missing the first part of the post -season, McIlroy is expected to compete in the penultimate event of the playoffs in Baltimore and the last leg of Atlanta later this month. The Nordirishman is also intended to be the main participant for Europe in this year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York.
