Rory McIlroy finishes 68th out of 70 in first PGA Tour play-off

World No 3 finished nine-over par after four rounds at the FedEx St Jude Championship and needs to sharpen up going into final two events

Rory McIlroy finished last-but-one in the first of the PGA Tour’s end-of-season play-offs on Sunday, damaging his hopes of “turning a pretty good year into a very good year”.
The World No 3 struggled in a tie for 68th in the 70-man field of the FedEx St Jude Championship with a final-round 74 leaving him on nine-over.
Yet despite finding himself in good company amongst the backmarkers – Jordan Spieth was alongside, with another US Ryder Cupper in Max Homa holding up the no-cut leaderboard – this was a grim week for the Northern Irishman.
McIlroy arrived in Memphis in seemingly confident mood after recording a fifth place at the Olympics, but he returned to the poor form of last month when he missed the cut in the Open at Royal Troon. He is in no danger of falling out of the top 30 who will qualify for the Tour Championship, a group that will battle for a record £19.3 million first prize. But his game will obviously have to improve if he is to challenge at East Lake.
After a campaign in which his late collapse at the US Open clearly stands out – when he looked almost certain to win his first major in 10 years – McIlroy appears to be at a crossroads. “I feel like this year and maybe the last couple years, I’ve just found a way to hit the wrong shot at the wrong time,” he said at the start of the week. “That might go into preparation and trying to practise a little more under pressure at home.
“I mean, you go through these things in golf, and you go through these little challenges, and you just have to try to figure out a way to get through it.”
McIlroy will tee it up in the BMW Championship in Colorado that begins on Thursday, before heading to Georgia for the US finale he has won on three occasions.
The biggest golf event of the week takes place at St Andrews where Charley Hull will be the top-ranked Briton in the Women’s Open. On Sunday, the 28-year-old from Kettering posted a morale-boosting fifth at the Scottish Women’s Open at Dundonald Links, shooting a 73 to land on eight-under, seven behind the US winner Lauren Coughlin.
Germany’s Esther Henseleit was four behind as runner-up, boosting her chances of grabbing a debut on the Europe Solheim Cup team for next month’s match against America in Washington DC.
With one week remaining in the qualifying race, Georgia Hall must perform well at the Old Course to guarantee her spot, otherwise the 2018 Women’s Open winner will require one of Suzann Pettersen’s wildcards.