Rory McIlroy shook off some rust at the FedEx St. Jude Championship — but not much else. Returning from a long layoff for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the opening playoff event, McIlroy posted rounds of 74, 70, 72 and 72 to finish in 66th place. He said the week was a constant battle with his swing and he was never able to get comfortable. "Obviously didn't come in here with a ton of reps, almost felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit," McIlroy said after Sunday's final round. "Swing wasn't in sync and obviously didn't do a ton of practice coming in here." 2026 FedEx Cup standings: Who made top 50 entering BMW Championship?
There were flickers of progress late, as McIlroy had four birdies during an eight-hole stretch on the back nine Sunday. He is hoping they carry over. "I figured it out a little bit the last few holes today, I think," he said. "I guess 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." McIlroy plans to reunite with coach Michael Bannon and caddie Harry Diamond before heading to Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis for the BMW Championship. "I'm going to go home. I'll work with Michael and Harry … just try to get the swing into some sort of better sync and better flow," 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. I'm going to have to sort of put the head down and grind from now until Thursday to try to feel like I have any sort of chance next week." Despite the forgettable weekend, McIlroy will go to the BMW in 13th place in the FedExCup standings, putting him in a comfortable spot to advance to the Tour Championship. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'I felt lost': Rory McIlroy searching for answers after FedExCup Playoff opener