Rory McIlroy theory emerges as he marks himself out after turning down £2.7m opportunity

Golf veteran Rich Beem has backed Rory McIlroy’s decision not to play at the FedEx St Jude Championship in order to rest and boost his chances of winning the FedExCup

Rich Beem believes Rory McIlroy is skipping the FedEx St Jude Championship this week to avoid the heat and subsequent fatigue.

The former PGA Championship winner said the decision was unsurprising if McIlroy hopes to win the PGA Tour’s FedExCup for a record-extending fourth time, despite it meaning he will miss out on a possible £2.7million ($3.6m) in prize money.

Out of the 70 players who are eligible to play at the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, McIlroy is the only one who has chosen to sit out of the action. Only the top-70 in the season-long standings can compete, with the world No. 2 entering the FedExCup Playoffs second in the standings.

That means Masters champion McIlroy is already guaranteed a spot in the next two Playoff events – the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship – later this month, which he will return for.

Beem believes the decision will help the Northern Irishman in the coming weeks as he will be fresher for the next two tournaments.

Sky Sports Golf Podcast presenter Jamie Weir began by asking Beem whether he was surprised, to which the latter said: “No. The reason I say that is because McIlroy is currently in second place, he’s almost a thousand points ahead of Sepp Straka in third. He’s not going to drop too many spots by the time they get to the BMW Championship.”

Weir agreed but also pointed out: “It means nothing because they’ve lost the starting shots now so they all arrive at the Tour Championship at East Lake on a level playing field.”

Beem went on to add: “It’s not surprising because Memphis is typically very hot. I’m not lying, you’re drinking 20 bottles of water out there. One per hole at least. It can be that stifling.

“And then you go the next week to Caves Valley (BMW Championship) in Maryland which is a massive golf course, a big hard walk. I think that if he wants to win the FedEx Cup a fourth time, he’s got to have all of his energy and Memphis can really sap your energy just because of how hot it is.

“The three weeks can really take it out of you from a weather standpoint and so I think Rory taking this week off to save himself for the last two is actually not a bad call.”

The FedExCup Playoffs consist of three events, featuring a progressive cut with fields of 70 (FedEx St. Jude Championship), 50 (BMW Championship) and 30 (Tour Championship).

Points from the regular season carry over to the first two playoff events, while the latter is played as a 72-hole stroke-play event where all players start the tournament at even par.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who won his second major title of the season at The Open Championship, will still feature this week. The Texan last year won after four rounds at the Tour Championship and claimed the FedExCup, along with £18.7m in prize money.

The PGA have since revamped how the end-of-season prizes are distributed, only offering £7.5m to the victor this year. The intention is to spread the rewards and make sure long-term efforts are recognised accordingly.