Rory McIlroy might not have lit up the highlight reel at Royal Birkdale but his post-round press conferences offered plenty to be discussed in the days and weeks that follow the year’s final major.
The world’s second-ranked player followed up an assertive, blunt assessment of Bryson DeChambeau’s two-stroke penalty at The Open with a cynically fatigued response about next month’s FedExCup playoffs.
“The PGA Tour is in a lot of flux at the minute with a lot of their schedule and structure and everything like that — I think the change where it doesn’t matter where you are in the top 30 going into the Tour Championship, it’s like, ‘I just need to be in the top 30 going in there to have a chance to win a FedExCup. So why would I care about the first two?’” McIlroy said after shooting a 1-over 71 in his final round at the 154th Open Championship.
“I sort of came to that decision last year, and I’m just sort of doing the same thing,” he followed up.
McIlroy, who finished 1 under on the tournament, was asked by reporters if he would play again before the start of the playoffs and he responded, no. McIlroy did not, however, clarify his intended playoff schedle.
When asked if the playoffs fail to get his competitive juices flowing, McIlroy responded, “Yeah, that’s fair.”
In a follow-up asking what sparked his apathy toward the Tour and its schedule, McIlroy said he believes it “sort of ebbs and flows.”
“There’s been years where I’ve given it maybe more of my attention and years that I haven’t,” he reflected. “I guess I’m just at a stage that I have other things that I prioritize.”
McIlroy will be in the field in the DP World Tour’s Amgen Irish Open, the week after the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship. He’s also committed to the following week’s BMW PGA Championship, the European tour’s flagship event.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it,” said a more enthusiastic McIlroy. “I’ve really enjoyed my stretches of golf in Europe and heading into — like going back to India again, the Middle East, Australia, really enjoyed that part of the year last year, and looking forward to that again for sure.”
