Scottie Scheffler shares Rory McIlroy concern but declines to follow his £2.7m lead

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are the top two players in the world, but the golf titans have made different decisions in regard to the FedEx St. Jude Championship

Scottie Scheffler has confessed his worries about overexerting himself, despite choosing not to follow Rory McIlroy’s decision to give the FedEx St. Jude Championship a miss.

McIlroy, 36, is the only golfer in the top 70 who won’t be participating in the season’s first FedEx Cup Play-offs event, which boasts a whopping £2.7m first prize. With the PGA Tour regular season now wrapped up, all eyes are on the play-offs.

Despite his concerns, Scheffler will still be teeing off in Memphis alongside the rest of the top 70. However, he shares many of the same apprehensions as McIlroy.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the TPC Southwind event, the world No. 1 said: “Well, I think it all comes down to the preparation and showing up ready to play. Like I said, at this point in the year, that extra practice is maybe only going to be draining for me a little bit.

“That’s something that I’ve learned to manage as my career has gone on. I would say my prep week last week definitely looked a bit different than it would have looked before the Scottish Open.

“It definitely looked a little bit different than it would have looked if you go back to the beginning of the year when I was coming off injury. So making sure I’m rested, ready to play.

“My game is in a good spot, and I feel like some extra practice at this point in the year can almost be detrimental in terms of just physical and mental fatigue. Showing up like you’re ready to play.”

Both McIlroy and Scheffler have voiced their concerns about the importance of preserving their bodies and avoiding playing excessive amounts of golf. However, despite sharing similar worries, Scheffler’s strategy is to compete in as many events and finish as highly as possible in each one, while McIlroy is more willing to pick and choose so he doesn’t tire himself.

Scheffler has an impressive streak of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes and evidently believes his body is fit enough to continue competing. This contrasts with McIlroy, who had been planning on missing the event in Memphis since November last year.

The Holywood star’s track record in the event leaves plenty to be desired. Last year, he finished tied for 68th out of 70 players, and he’s yet to clinch a win in Memphis after eight attempts.

His best performance was in 2023 when he secured a third-place finish. Speaking to the Telegraph in November 2024, McIlroy said: “I’ll probably not play the first play-off event in Memphis.

“I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year [tied for 68 in a 70-man field], and only moved down one spot in the play-off standings.”

Entering the FedEx Cup Play-offs in second place, McIlroy has already guaranteed his participation in the subsequent two play-off events, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. The five-time major champion is comfortably positioned, sitting second in the rankings and holding a substantial lead of 1,661 points over Tommy Fleetwood in third place.