Rory McIlroy has done opposite to Scottie Scheffler with $3.6 million at stake

Scottie Scheffler has voiced his concerns about the risk of “draining” himself, echoing Rory McIlroy’s sentiments after the latter chose to bow out of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

McIlroy, aged 36, stands out as the sole top 70 player not participating in the season’s inaugural FedEx Cup Playoffs event, which boasts a whopping first prize of $3.6 million. However, he recently banked $10 million without swinging a club.

READ: VIDEO: What Tiger Woods did on the PGA Tour in

With the PGA Tour wrapped up, all eyes are now on the Playoffs. McIlroy is not taking part, but a PGA Tour sanction threat has been made as a loophole could be banned.

Scheffler will be joining the fray in Memphis alongside the rest of the top 70 contenders. However, despite his commitment to compete, he shares many of McIlroy’s apprehensions.

Speaking at a press conference prior to the TPC Southwind event, the World No. 1 shared: “Well, I think it all comes down to the preparation and showing up ready to play.”

He continued, “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 emphasized the importance of taking care of their bodies and avoiding an overload of golf. However, despite sharing similar concerns, Scheffler, riding a wave of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes, seems to have enough confidence to maintain his playing schedule, doing the opposite of what World No.2 has chosen.

Since as far back as November last year, McIlroy had been contemplating sitting out the event. His track record in Memphis is less than stellar. Last year, he ended up tied for 68th out of 70 players and has yet to clinch a win in Memphis after eight tries, with his closest shot being a third-place finish in 2023.

In a conversation with the Telegraph in November 2024, McIlroy revealed: “I’ll probably not play the first playoff 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 playoff standings.”

Entering the FedEx Cup Playoffs in second place, McIlroy has comfortably secured his spots in the subsequent Playoff events, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. The celebrated Grand Slam champion is well-positioned, ranking second and holding a substantial lead of 1,661 points over Tommy Fleetwood in third place.