Scottie Scheffler reclaimed the winner's circle at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, marking his first victory since January. Scheffler finished 17 under par to win the opening event of the three-tournament FedEx Cup playoffs. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy expressed significant concern over his own performance, finishing in a tie for 66th place, 25 strokes behind Scheffler.
McIlroy, who had not competed since the Open Championship in July, struggled throughout the tournament at TPC Southwind. He failed to record a single round under par and ended the event at eight over. "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," McIlroy stated. He described feeling "lost" with his golf swing as the week progressed.
"Obviously didn't come in here with a ton of reps, (it) almost felt like the more the week went on the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit," McIlroy added. "To me it's more about the execution of what I'm doing right now, and the execution wasn't there this week."
McIlroy's statistics reflected his struggles, particularly his play from tee to green, where he ranked 62nd out of 68 players in strokes gained. Despite the overall disappointment, he did manage a seven-hole stretch on the back nine with four birdies. However, the round concluded with successive bogeys after opening the final round with a six on the par-four first hole.
Scheffler's victory propels him in the season-long standings, while McIlroy, currently 13th, faces a critical period of work heading into the next playoff event. The next tournament is scheduled for the following Thursday.