Rory McIlroy’s decision to skip last week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener – he was the only one of the PGA Tour’s top 70 who didn’t compete in the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee – raised eyebrows and fueled speculation that measures to discourage top players from taking a week off during the playoffs may be in the offing.
PGA Tour Policy Board player director Peter Malnati told Golfweek he was “very concerned” that a top player elected not to compete in a playoff event, and when asked if the tour was considering changes to prevent the situation in the future, he added, “I think there is stuff in the works and I’ll leave it at that.”
Lucas Glover, who competed in Memphis, defended McIlroy in a SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio appearance.
“Do I wish he was here? Sure,” Glover said. “I know the tournament does, the sponsors do, the TV does but, with the current setup, they can’t say anything because it’s his choice, and it should be because we are technically independent contractors.
“I do think that now the precedent is set, there is perhaps reason to address this going forward. That being said, I don’t blame him.”
McIlroy was second behind Scottie Scheffler in the FedEx Cup standings at the conclusion of the regular season, mathematically permitting him to sit out the first two playoff events and still finish among the top 30 who qualify for the playoff finale, the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. McIlroy is expected to play this week’s BMW Championship. READ MORE
Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty Images
Although the LPGA Tour was off last week, a significant change in the circuit’s pecking order transpired with Jeeno Thitikul surpassing Nelly Korda as the world’s No. 1 player in the Rolex Rankings.
Thitikul ascended to the top perch by virtue of her T30 finish at the AIG Women’s Open two Sundays ago. Korda had held the top spot since March of last year. Thitikul was briefly ranked No. 1 in late 2022.
Thitikul has recorded eight top-10 finishes this season, the most on the LPGA Tour. She won the Mizuho Americas Open, finished second at the Amundi Evian Championship and T2 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. She leads the Race to the CME Globe and Rolex Player of the Year standings, and has the tour’s lowest scoring average (69.511). READ MORE
Three-time PGA Tour winner Hudson Swafford is working in real estate while serving what amounts to a five-year suspension from the tour in connection with his decision to join LIV Golf in 2022, just a few months after his last victory.
In an interview with Golf.com’s Subpar podcast, Swafford explained that the duration of his suspension is the result of his having played in five LIV events during the PGA Tour season in 2022 for which he wasn’t able to obtain conflicting-event releases. “So they’re giving me a year for each of those and it equaled [2027],” he said.
Swafford, a 37-year-old pro who has battled injuries since leaving the tour, was relegated from LIV last year and said he hasn’t ruled out a PGA Tour return once his suspension is up.
“I’ve had some good back and forths with the PGA Tour, but then some wishy-washy,” Swafford said. “It’s still not set in stone.” READ MORE
Tap-Ins
Eight countries and 32 players have qualified for the LPGA’s 2025 Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown, slated for Oct. 23-26 in South Korea. World No. 2 Nelly Korda will lead the four-player U.S. team, while the World squad will include New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, England’s Charley Hull and Canada’s Brooke Henderson. READ MORE
Hull, the world No. 10 and runner-up in the AIG Women’s Open, withdrew from last week’s Ladies European Tour event, the PIF London Championship, on medical advice following an MRI scan on her ankle on Thursday. According to Hull’s father, Dave, the English player badly injured her ankle falling from a steep curb in the car park. READ MORE
CBS Sports reported that its 2025 PGA Tour telecasts delivered 2.969 million average viewers, a 17 percent year-over-year jump and the best year of tour viewership on the network since 2018. READ MORE
After a one-year experiment playing East Lake Golf Club’s 14th hole as a par-5, Tour Championship officials will set up the hole as a par-4 for this month’s FedEx Cup playoff finale, Golf Channel’s website reported. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity