In the scheme of things, Rory McIlroy didn’t need to play in next week’s opening FedEx Cup playoff event on the PGA Tour, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. In fact, he’s proving how little he needs to play in a lot of the tour’s big-money events.

The FedEx St. Jude Championship will have a very notable absence next week. Rory McIlroy to skip the FedEx Cup event at TPC Southwind.

Though the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin next week in Memphis, Tennessee, the No. 2 golfer in the world will not be part of the field. Rory McIlroy's name was absent Friday from the 69-man list of competitors for the 2025 St. Jude Championship released by the PGA Tour.