5x Major Champion Rory McIlroy’s Decision to Skip FedEx St. Jude Championship Triggers Mixed Reactions from Fans

Rory McIlroy will not be part of the playing field at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis as he decided to skip the first FedEx Cup playoff event.

5x Major Champion Rory McIlroy’s Decision to Skip FedEx St. Jude Championship Triggers Mixed Reactions from Fans

Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

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Rory McIlroy has once again made a bold move. The 5-time major champion decided to skip the FedEx St. Jude Championship next week in Memphis. This decision of his sparked mixed reactions among fans across social media.

The FedEx St. Jude Championship is the first of three playoff events that determine the FedEx Cup Champion. With his three wins, including the Masters Tournament, McIlroy sits 2nd in the FedEx Cup standings and is in no danger of missing the Tour Championship, the finale of the PGA Tour season.

Before this year, the top 70 players from the FedEx Cup standings would participate in the FedEx Cup playoff events. The FedEx St. Jude Championship would start this playoffs with the BMW Championship coming second, and the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta wrapping up the season.

However, from this year, the starting strokes format was removed. This means that the Tour Championship will be played as a regular 72-hole stroke-play event with every player starting at even par.

McIlroy, who is 2nd in the standings, is guaranteed to play in the Tour Championship. So him missing this event does not have any effect.

McIlroy’s last appearance at the golf course was two weeks ago at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. In his home country of Northern Ireland, the World No.2 posted scores of 70-69-66-69 in the four rounds to finish T7 with a score of 10-under par.

Golf fans react to Rory McIlroy skipping FedEx St. Jude Championship

Rory McIlroy has decided not to travel to Memphis for the FedEx St. Jude Championship next week. The reigning Masters Tournament champion will not be part of the first FedEx Cup playoff event this year.

Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

This decision of McIlroy triggered mixed reactions and opinions from golf fans on social media. While many of them slammed him and took a swipe at the PGA Tour for allowing this, there were some who backed his decision.

Check out some fan reactions regarding McIlroy’s decision from X below:

This year, McIlroy has played in 14 events on the PGA Tour and managed to make the cut in 13 of them. He has 12 top-25 finishes, 8 top-10 finishes and 3 wins, and 1 runner-up finish.

LIV Golf insider backs Rory McIlroy’s decision to skip FedEx St. Jude Championship

As the month of August gets underway, the attention of golf fans towards the FedEx Cup playoffs. The FedEx St. Jude Championship is one of the three events of this playoff. This year, this event will not feature Rory McIlroy as he decided to skip it. A LIV Golf insider would later back him for this decision.

Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

While reacting to this development, LIV Golf writer Matt Vincenzi applauded the decision of McIlroy. He pointed out that the 36-year-old already has a tight schedule, which includes him representing Team Europe at the 2025 Ryder Cup.

I applaud Rory McIlroy’s decision to skip the St. Jude Championship. With a packed schedule including his National Open, Wentworth, the Ryder Cup, and the Australian Open, he’s smart to prioritize what matters most to him right now. Having already won three FedEx Cups, there’s little need for him to compete in the first leg of the playoffs. Good on ya, Rors.

Matt Vincenzi on X

The Ryder Cup is an important one for McIlroy. Earlier this year, he mentioned that winning another Ryder Cup was one of his 3 career goals. Having won the tournament in 2023, he and his teammates would be hoping to go back-to-back and retain the trophy.

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