It proved to be a strange week for Rory McIlroy at the BMW Championship as the Northern Irishman made his return to action after several weeks on the sidelines.
Rory McIlroy sparked plenty of debate with his decision to skip the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week. The 36-year-old went into the FedEx Cup playoffs with his spot at the Tour Championship all but secured.
Some felt McIlroy boosted his chances of winning at East Lake by missing Memphis. But clearly, the five-time major champion is going to have to step up his game if he is going to win the FedEx Cup for a fourth time in his career next week.
McIlroy admitted feeling that he was awful in the first round of the BMW Championship. Things did pick up on Friday as he posted a 66. However, McIlroy did not appear to be in the zone throughout the week and ended up finishing outside the top 10.
Rory McIlroy assesses his performance at the BMW Championship
It has arguably been the story of McIlroy’s game in recent months. He has not been himself since winning The Masters, with McIlroy only in serious contention at the Genesis Scottish Open since then.
And after his final round at Caves Valley, McIlroy admitted that he had probably set unrealistic expectations for himself this week.
“The game was awful for the first six holes and then actually felt like I found something, especially on the back nine there. So definitely something to build off going into next week,” he said.
“Yeah, it was — this week was my three weeks off. I really didn’t do anything in those three weeks. I was probably expecting too much to get in contention, but there were glimmers of really good stuff in there this week.
“As I said, I felt like I found a bit of a groove over the last nine holes, so certainly something to build off going into the Tour Championship next week.”
How Rory McIlroy has performed at the Tour Championship during his career
East Lake has undergone some notable changes over the last couple of years. So it is difficult to know how important past form will prove to be next week.
But McIlroy has a superb record at the Tour Championship across his career. He won in 2016, 2019 and 2022, while he has been in the top 10 in nine of his 11 appearances in the event.
And with someone like Xander Schauffele not making it to the season finale, a lot of players will be a lot more confident about their chances.
Of course, right now, much depends on whether Scottie Scheffler has his A game or not. But McIlroy is one of those players who can rival the world number one if everything clicks for him.
Hopefully he has a much better idea of what he needs to work on heading into the final event of the regular season following his performance at the BMW Championship.
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