Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler both made different decisions regarding competing in the FedEx St. Jude Championship this week, but the latter does have some concerns

Scottie Scheffler opened up about his concerns ahead of the St Jude Championship(Image: YouTube/The FOREcast Golf)

Scottie Scheffler has admitted he is concerned about “draining” himself too much, after Rory McIlroy decided to skip the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

McIlroy, 36, is the only player in the top 70 who will not be taking part in the first FedEx Cup Playoffs event of the season, which carries a first prize of $3.6 million. All attention has turned to the Playoffs after the PGA Tour was brought to a close.

Scheffler will still be competing in Memphis with the rest of the top 70. But despite his decision, he actually has many of the same concerns as McIlroy.

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

“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.

McIlroy has not played since finishing T7 in the Open(Image: 2025 R&A)

“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.”

McIlroy and Scheffler have both spoken about the need of preserving their bodies and not playing too much golf. But Scheffler, who boasts 13 straight top-10 finishes, is evidently confident enough to keep playing and has done the opposite to the World No. 2 despite sharing the same concerns.

McIlroy had been thinking about skipping the event since November last year. The Northern Irishman has a less than favorable record in Memphis.

McIlroy had a torrid time at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last year(Image: 2024 Getty Images)

Last year, he finished tied for 68 out of 70 players and has failed to win in Memphis in eight attempts, with his best finish coming in 2023, when he finished third. In November 2024, he told the Telegraph: “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.”

McIlroy began the FedEx Cup Playoffs in second position, which means he has already secured his place in the next two Playoff competitions, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. The Grand Slam winner is sitting pretty, second in the rankings and 1,661 points ahead of third place Tommy Fleetwood.