Rory McIlroy was the only player who qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs opener to opt out of the event, with the Northern Irishman’s decision to skip the FedEx St. Jude Championship drawing widespread criticism
Rory McIlroy has suggested a potential alteration to the PGA Tour structure following criticism of his “very concerning” choice.
The Northern Irishman highlighted a significant flaw in the revamped 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs format last week by choosing to withdraw from the FedEx St. Jude Championship – becoming the sole player amongst the top 70 qualifiers to miss the opening event.
Despite his decision to bypass the tournament at TPC Southwind, McIlroy maintained his second position in the rankings ahead of the BMW Championship.
Whilst the four-time major winner remains unable to overtake Scottie Scheffler for the summit, this proves largely irrelevant given the PGA Tour’s season-ending tournament no longer features starting scores following a mid-campaign modification.
Nevertheless, McIlroy’s non-participation sparked considerable debate throughout the golfing community, with Peter Malnati – a player representative on the PGA Tour policy board – acknowledging he felt “very concerned” about one of the game’s leading figures choosing to bypass a playoff tournament, reports the Mirror US.
When questioned whether the tour was contemplating measures to avoid such scenarios recurring, Malnati responded: “I think there is stuff in the works and I’ll leave it at that.”
Addressing journalists on Wednesday at the BMW Championship, McIlroy proposed one method by which the existing playoff system could be enhanced.
“There’s been a lot of discourse about should these playoffs be mandatory,” he stated.
“Obviously I didn’t play last week, and is that something they need to look at?
“I’ve heard this idea kicked around, where everything resets after Wyndham and then the top 70 just play for the top 50 spots to get into the next week, and then everything resets again here, and then the top 30 from this week then make it to the Tour Championship.
“If you want to try to make it straight playoffs and elimination, I think that would be a good way to go,” McIlroy continued. “[But] you’re trying to balance a lot of different things.
“You’re trying to balance the competitive integrity of what the playoffs are, but you’re also trying to keep the media rights partners happy, and you’re trying to keep the sponsors happy – they’re the people that are paying the big bucks and expect the big names to be playing in their golf tournaments, and that’s a delicate balance.”
Despite his punishing schedule for the rest of the year, McIlroy insisted he would have withdrawn from the FedEx St. Jude Championship regardless, even if it meant tumbling down the rankings.
“I’m playing nine times between now and the end of the year, so I think by the time October, November comes around, I’m going to be glad of that extra week off,” he said.
“A lot of the guys aren’t 18 years into their professional careers, either. I feel like I’m in a little bit of a different position than some of the guys. That extra week off will do me good with the events coming up.”
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