McIlroy voices concern after 66th at St Jude as Scheffler regains winning form

Rory McIlroy admitted he was struggling after finishing 66th at the St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind on 16 August 2026, while world number one Scottie Scheffler won the tournament. McIlroy finished 25 strokes behind Scheffler, who closed the event at 17 under par.

Scheffler’s victory was his first since the American Express Open on 27 January and came at the first of the three FedEx Cup play-off events. McIlroy, who won his second Masters title earlier this season, had not played competitively since the Open Championship in July and recorded an eight-over total that left him ahead of only two players in the field. The Northern Irishman is 13th in the season-long standings and the report noted he is already assured of making the 30-man season-ending Tour Championship.

Reflecting on his week, McIlroy said: "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." He added: "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 failed to record a single round under par across the four days and ranked 62nd out of 68 players for strokes gained from tee to green.

McIlroy did produce a seven-hole stretch on the back nine that yielded four birdies, but his round began with a six on the par-four opening hole and he finished with successive bogeys. "I guess [it was] nice to shake the rust off a little bit but I'm going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week," he said. "To me it's more about the execution of what I'm doing right now, and the execution wasn't there this week."

Scheffler led by two overnight and maintained that advantage through the final round, signing for a four-under 66 on Sunday and outscoring his playing partner Sam Burns by seven shots. Scheffler made an early bogey after splashing out of a bunker, the ball hitting a sprinkler head and finding water, but he still finished comfortably clear. "I've had some close calls this year. It is always challenging playing with one of my best friends but I wanted to do my best," Scheffler said. "I think I've been really consistent. That's what I'm most proud of. It's nice for it to pay off this week, this is a lot better feeling than having a statistically good week."

Sam Burns signed for a three-over 73 to finish in a tie for third with Sweden's Alex Noren, while US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Im Sung-jae finished a stroke further back. Justin Rose was the only player to better Scheffler on Sunday, carding a six-under 64 to end the tournament at level par.

The top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings now head to Bellerive Country Club in St Louis for next week's BMW Championship. The top 30 after that event will progress to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, which carries a $40m prize fund.