Rory McIlroy should not receive criticism for missing FedEx St. Jude Championship

Rory McIlroy (TourProGolfClubs, Wikimedia Commons)

As I mentioned yesterday the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship is taking place this weekend in Memphis, Tennessee. The big news is not necessarily the fact that Scottie Scheffler enters the event as the dominant favourite, or that American Akshay Bhatia is the round one leader at -9. The big news is the fact that Masters champion and world number two Rory McIlroy of  Holywood, Northern Ireland is not playing, when he is considered a prime face of the PGA Tour.

According to Joel Beall of Golf Digest 75, McIlroy’s character has been criticized for not participating in the first round of the PGA Tour’s playoffs.  The current problem is not the player–“it’s the product.” I agree 100% with Beall that the PGA Tour should be scrutinized.

The FedEx Cup playoffs are extremely confusing for the average sports viewer. As a result, its complication has made the three-week event extremely irrelevant. Does the average golf fan truly care if their favourite player wins the FedEx Cup Playoffs? The answer is no. They care if they win the majors.

Beall also addresses how farcical the FedEx Cup playoffs actually are. A year ago in Memphis, McIlroy finished in second last place in the tournament, 68th out of 70. He was at +9, and only Max Homa at +11 was worse. However, McIlroy still advanced to the second round. In what other playoff does a player or team advance when they are awful in the first round? Beall has also stated that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have missed a complete FedEx Cup playoff event in the past. Woods in fact never even played in The Barclays in 2007, and still won the 2007 FedEx Cup after beating Zach Johnson and Mark Calcavecchia by eight strokes at the Tour Championship.

The PGA Tour needs to figure out a way to change the playoffs. I have a better idea. Just scrap them all completely. McIlroy should be praised instead of being criticized for missing this weekend. Then maybe those in charge of organizing these events can figure out how to make a required change.