McIlroy admits concerns as Scheffler regains winning feeling at St Jude

Rory McIlroy admitted he "felt lost" as he endured a disappointing 66th-place finish at the FedEx St Jude Championship, a performance that left him 25 strokes behind the eventual champion, Scottie Scheffler. The Northern Irishman's struggles were evident throughout the tournament, his first competitive outing since the Open Championship in July.

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I'm so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance. I've just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit.

While world number one Scheffler celebrated his first win since January, McIlroy's eight-over-par total placed him ahead of only two other players in the opening event of the three-tournament FedEx Cup play-offs. This result is a significant concern for McIlroy, who is aiming for an unprecedented fourth FedEx Cup title later this month.

"I'm so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance. I've just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit," McIlroy stated. He described feeling increasingly lost with his golf swing as the week progressed. "It almost felt like the more the week went on the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit," he added.

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It almost felt like the more the week went on the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit.

McIlroy acknowledged the need for substantial improvement before the next event. "I guess [it was] nice to shake the rust off a little bit but I'm going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week." He pinpointed execution as the main issue, noting, "To me it's more about the execution of what I'm doing right now, and the execution wasn't there this week."

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I guess [it was] nice to shake the rust off a little bit but I'm going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week.

Scheffler, meanwhile, delivered a commanding performance, leading by two shots overnight and never relinquishing control. He finished at 17 under par, outscoring his playing partner and friend Sam Burns by seven shots. Despite an early bogey, Scheffler's consistent play secured his victory, marking his first win since the American Express Open on January 27th. He expressed pride in his consistent performance throughout the year.

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To me it's more about the execution of what I'm doing right now, and the execution wasn't there this week.