McIlroy makes woeful start to FedExCup Playoffs as Spieth shares early lead
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- Rory McIlroy carded a four-over-par 74 in the opening round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, his level-par standing through 15 holes undone by dropped shots at 16 and 17 and a closing double bogey at TPC Southwind's par-four 18th after his tee shot found the water.
- Jordan Spieth and Michael Thorbjornsen share the early lead at five-under 65, with Spieth paired alongside Tommy Fleetwood in Thursday's marquee groups.
- Tommy Fleetwood (England) opened with a 66 featuring a chip-in eagle at the par-five third and sits one shot off the lead, telling Sky Sports his iron play was 'iffy' but his tee game carried the round.
- Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 playing in the marquee group with McIlroy, posted a two-under 68, while Ludvig Aberg and Sepp Straka also finished on two-under to keep European company near the top of the leaderboard.
- Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) had the worst round of the day at 12-over 82, but McIlroy's 12th-place standing in the 70-player field leaves him safely inside the top-50 FedExCup cutoff for next week's BMW Championship.
- The FedExCup Playoffs format — top 70 at the St. Jude, top 50 at the BMW Championship (August 20-23), top 30 at the Tour Championship (August 27-30) — culminates in a $10 million winner's purse, with the starting-strokes model axed in 2025.
Why it matters: McIlroy's three-hole collapse from level par to four-over — capped by a tee-shot water ball and double bogey at the par-four 18th — leaves him nine shots back heading into Friday, though his 12th-place standing safely clears the top-50 BMW Championship cutoff. Only the top 30 in FedExCup standings advance to the August 30 Tour Championship, where the winner collects $10 million and a five-year PGA Tour exemption.
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