“The Bomb” McIlroy

Rory McIlroy did not appear in Memphis (Tennessee, USA), where the PGA Tour kicked off the 2025 FedEx Cup playoffs through the St. Jude Championship (Par70; starting at 7:20 p.m. on August 7, Hanoi time).

The absence was long planned, but it became a shocking explosion. Not because the action was so sudden, but because the decision collapsed a system that had spent years trying to patch up its fragile shell.

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McIlroy decided to take a break due to his busy schedule. Photo: EFE

People like to believe that the FedEx Cup is the pinnacle of the PGA Tour , where stars are forced to show up and fight for glory.

However, McIlroy – who holds the record of 3 championships (2016, 2019 and 2022) – made many people directly question its true value by… staying at home.

The Northern Irishman's withdrawal is nothing new, having missed the play-offs in 2015 and 2018.

Tiger Woods did it in 2007 and still won the FedEx Cup (it's a three-legged event). Phil Mickelson skipped an event while leading the points table.

No one objected, no one called it a crisis. But this year, when McIlroy did the same thing, the reaction was as if the golf world order had collapsed.

Peter Malnati – representative of the Golfers Council – spoke out expressing “big concerns” and hinted at the possibility of new regulations to force stars to fully participate in the play-off.

On social media, people call it “Rory’s Law.” The nickname doesn’t hide the system’s confusion, where one individual who doesn’t follow the script is enough to make the stage shake.

August is a quiet month on the global sports calendar. No World Cup, no Olympics, no Super Bowl. Just Memphis heat (33-34 degrees Celsius) and a story big enough to shake up golf.

McIlroy suddenly became the protagonist – not because he was playing golf, but because he chose not to.

The truth is, the PGA Tour has spent two decades trying to convince the public that the FedEx Cup matters.

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McIlroy with The Players title in March, a PGA Tour tournament with a prize fund of 25 million USD. Photo: EFE

Now, when it has to rely on the presence of a few stars to maintain appeal, the question to ask is not “Why is Rory out?” , but “Why does no one care when others play?” .

FedEx Cup Questions

Comparing it to other sports is misleading. No one can imagine an NFL quarterback skipping the playoffs.

Golf is completely different, where the sacredness lies in the four majors (The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open Championship), the Ryder Cup, or sometimes The Players Championship.

The FedEx Cup, despite its $25 million prize money, is a product of money. It has no tradition, no emotion.

McIlroy wasn’t the only one tired. But he was the only one who dared to rest. Of the 70 golfers who qualified for Memphis ($20 million prize fund; $3.6 million for the winner), he was the only one who didn’t show up.

The world No. 2 golfer chose to rest before the schedule, including the remaining two play-off events (BMW Championship and Tour Championship; taking place consecutively in the next 2 weeks), Ryder Cup (late next month) and European Tour.

He did not protest, but simply wanted to preserve reasonable physical fitness during the exhausting competition year.

The PGA Tour has reason to be concerned. With television partners spending hundreds of millions of dollars to see McIlroy play, and FedEx pouring money into the tournament in its “home base” (headquartered in Memphis), Rors’ absence is a hole that could become a scratch on the sponsorship relationship.

But if a league exists only because of one individual, then perhaps it will never be stable enough.

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Rory shook up the PGA Tour and golf. Photo: EFE

McIlroy isn't entirely blameless. He was a pioneer in calling for star engagement with the special events system, especially when many switched to LIV Golf, and then skipped a few tournaments himself. But life isn't monotonous.

The post-Masters grind, physical and mental fatigue, and many off-course changes mean this decision cannot be dismissed as irresponsible.

Ultimately, the question remains the same: after nearly 20 years of fine-tuning the format, scoring, and course, why hasn't the FedEx Cup become a must-see destination?

Perhaps because it was never built on faith, but only on money and calculation. On that foundation, when one person withdraws, the whole building shakes.

McIlroy isn't ruining the PGA Tour. He's just helping us see the truth.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/rory-mcilroy-bo-play-off-fedex-cup-cai-tat-cho-pga-tour-2429654.html