Rory McIlroy will head into next week's BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis 25 strokes behind the leader after a disappointing 66th-place finish at the St Jude Championship.
McIlroy, the 2014 PGA Championship winner, struggled to find his rhythm at TPC Southwind, failing to record a single round under par across the four days and finishing eight strokes over par. His struggles were most evident from tee to green, where he ranked 62nd out of 68 players for strokes gained.
The Northern Irishman, who won his second Masters title earlier this season, hadn't played competitively since the Open Championship in July. McIlroy's struggles are a concern ahead of the FedEx Cup play-offs, with the top 30 after the BMW Championship set to progress to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
McIlroy's lack of competitive golf in recent months has clearly taken its toll. "I'm so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance. I've just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit," he said.
The FedEx Cup play-offs are now in full swing, with the top 50 in the standings set to head to Bellerive Country Club in St Louis for next week's BMW Championship. The top 30 after that event will progress to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
McIlroy's struggles were a stark contrast to the dominant display put on by world number one Scottie Scheffler. The American claimed his first victory since January, finishing 17 under overall at the St Jude Championship. Scheffler's last victory was at the American Express Open on 27 January.
Scheffler's consistent form has earned him a place at the top of the FedEx standings, and he's looking to build on his momentum ahead of the play-offs. "I've had some close calls this year. It is always challenging playing with one of my best friends but I wanted to do my best," he said.
The FedEx Cup play-offs are now in full swing, with the top 50 in the standings set to head to Bellerive Country Club in St Louis for next week's BMW Championship. The top 30 after that event will progress to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, which has a $40m prize fund.
McIlroy will need to work hard to get his game back on track ahead of the BMW Championship. "I guess [it was] nice to shake the rust off a little bit but I'm going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week," he said.
The stakes are high for McIlroy, who is 13th in the season-long standings. He'll need to make significant improvements to his game if he's to have any chance of claiming an unprecedented fourth FedEx Cup later this month.
Source: BBC Sports