Archive of posts tagged Rory McIlroy

Kevin Na names golfers who bring Tiger Woods-level excitement

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Bryson DeChambeau

Tiger Woods is a person who is for many a symbol of golf as a sport. Throughout his long career, which is still ongoing, Tiger has shown qualities that we have never seen before. Brilliant performances, incredible mindset and focus are the reason why Tiger is such a beloved figure in the world of golf. 

He is the reason why some people even started playing this sport, watching this sport and enjoying its charms. 

In addition to the qualities on the golf course, the 49-year-old golfer has brought additional excitement to golf fans in various ways. 

Are there golfers in this era who remind you of Tiger? Former PGA Tour player Kevin Na shared his opinion, saying that Bryson DeChambeau is the golfer who reminds him the most of Woods; at least in terms of excitement.

“I think Bryson [DeChambeau] is the closest to it, in terms of the excitement,” Na said, as quoted by the Golfing Gazette.

“I think Rory [McIlroy] is pretty exciting. I think [Jon] Rahm is pretty exciting, and Joaquin [Niemann] is becoming that player as well.

I think there are different characters to the game that bring that kind of energy. Obviously, Tiger was dominating with his power and was blowing the field away. Even though he was four or five behind with nine to play, it was like, ‘he is going to win, he is going to go on a crazy run.’"

Kevin Na was Woods fan

Kevin Na reveals that he was a Woods fan as a kid, just like most kids at that time. Most of them wanted to become a dominant figure on the golf scene, just like Tiger. 

While some are not sure that there are golfers in the world of golf who can reach the heights that Tiger has reached, Kevin Na does not share this opinion. The popular golfer believes that there are some golfers who could leave at least a similar deep mark as the 49-year-old. 

Speaking about the progress of golf in recent years, Na feels that golf has seen great progress, but that it has also become significantly more exciting and fun

“I remember watching as a kid and being a fan of Tiger. It was incredible. But I think there are characters that can follow in his footsteps or become maybe not that Tiger Woods icon level, but up close to that level, and we can have three or four guys kind of equal Tiger.

I think golf has become more entertaining and more exciting than before. In the 90s, I grew up watching golf, and I became a pro in the early 2000s, and I played with all these guys on the Senior Tour who are playing now, and I think golf has become more entertaining."- he concluded.

Scottie Scheffler wants to expand his festival

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BMW

The PGA Tour season enters its final stretch this Thursday. The FedEx St. Jude Championship kicks off, the first of three tournaments that will determine the 2025 FedEx Cup champion.

Three separate events—this week's St. Jude, next week's BMW Championship, and the Tour Championship in two weeks' time—will determine the victory of the tour's annual season. The winner of the Tour Championship will claim the tour title. On the other hand, this PGA Tour playoff is scheduled weeks before the Ryder Cup.

Scottie Scheffler, results

The points for the winners of these tournaments are quadrupled compared to the regular season tournaments, so 2,000 are distributed to the winners in the first two events, before the Tour Championship decides the champion. Furthermore, the various tournaments, which are played without a cut, are eliminatory: of the seventy participants at St. Jude, only the top fifty in the annual rankings will advance to the BMW. After that, the cut will be set at thirty for the final Tour Championship.

The winner of that last tournament will be taken into account to determine the FedEx Cup champion. However, as a novelty this season, the players' starting scores will not be taken into account the annual tour ranking. Everyone will start at par.

Thus, a total of seventy players, the best of the season in the FedEx Cup, have secured a ticket to a FedEx St. Jude tournament to be played at TPC Southwind in Memphis this weekend. All eyes will be on one man: Scottie Scheffler. The American, a strong favorite for the final victory of the season, enters this tournament as the solid leader of the annual rankings and in peak form.

The British Open champion just under three weeks ago, Scheffler returns with all eyes on him. He has won four of his last eight tournaments and hasn't dropped out of the top 10 since The Players in March. A testament to his absolute consistency.

As if that weren't enough, he's seeking his second consecutive FedEx Cup, a feat no one has achieved since the format's launch in 2007. It would be another milestone for a player who continues to shape the future of golf, with two majors (he also won the PGA Championship) and four wins this year, and is poised to be at full strength for the Ryder Cup in a few weeks.

Furthermore, Scheffler (4,806 points in the standings) will not have his greatest rival in the fight for the FedEx Cup, Rory McIlroy (3,444), in the opening tournament, which reaffirms his favoritism for this first tournament. The American and Northern Irishman have a solid grip on the top two spots in the annual rankings heading into the final tournament, a situation that has led a tired McIlroy to save his energy for the next two weeks.

Thus, Scheffler's biggest rivals in the first tournament are Sepp Straka (2,595 points), Russell Henley (2,391), and Justin Thomas (2,280). The world number one is aiming to make the final push to distance all his rivals by more than 2,000 points before the BMW Championship and, with that, lock down that top spot heading into the final event.

Of course, there will be no shortage of other big names. J.J. Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, and Hideki Matsuyama are, among others, candidates to win this first tournament beyond the annual rankings. Players like Matthew Fitzpatrick, Schauffele, and Jordan Spieth are nearing the top 50 positions that qualify for the BMW Championship, so there's a lot at stake starting this week.

Webb Simpson backs Rory, says players shouldn’t be forced to play all tournaments

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East Lake

Rory McIlroy's decision to miss the first part of the FedEx Cup playoffs at St. Jude Championship did not meet with positive reactions from the public, but also colleagues, as well as important figures of the golf scene. 

A Northern Irish golfer took advantage of a loophole in the law, deciding to take a rest. 

Although some reacted strongly, Rory hinted at such a decision last year, saying that he probably won't play the same number of tournaments this year. 

An experienced golfer is focused on the recovery process after difficult and demanding tournaments, and luckily missing this tournament will not bring him negative consequences. 

Among the important figures of the golf scene is Webb Simpson, who shared his view of the situation in an interview with Golf Week. 

Simpson is someone who emphasizes free will in the world of golf, aware that it is difficult to get someone to play tournaments regularly.

"I think it's too hard of a thing to make guys have to play," Webb Simpson said, as reported by GolfWeek. 

"We're still a sport where you can play when you want to play."

Rory's season

After winning the Masters this year, Rory's form was not particularly promising. However, not long after, Rory showed some of the brilliance that we expected, and it seems that he is well on his way to lifting the trophy again. 

Rory will not lose anything by missing this tournament, considering that he has a huge advantage over others. 

Simpson recalled one part of his career, stressing that he made the same decision, wanting to rest.

"I knew I couldn't fall more than one spot and I thought losing one stroke at East Lake was worth a week of rest because I was toast," Simpson said. "I don't know Rory's reason but I totally get it. It's a hard to thing to fix."- he said.

The 35-year-old showed that the reactions of the public are not particularly important to him, probably knowing that the public will react in this way.

FedEx Cup Playoffs…without Rory McIlroy?

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Atlanta

The Wyndham Championship, Cameron Young's maiden victory, officially closed the PGA Tour regular season.

The Playoffs kick off tomorrow, which, as we've seen, will see the Tour Championship play abandon the much-criticized starting strokes formula and return to pure stroke play.

The top 70 players in the rankings will take to the green at TPC Southwind in Memphis, after which the top 50 will fly to Maryland to play the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club.

Afterward, the top 30 will board the plane again to tee off on the first tee at the now legendary East Lake Golf Club to decide, first and foremost, who will lift the Tour Championship trophy and the FedEx trophy, and, last but not least, who will collect the prize money.

Rory McIlroy, results

And it's precisely the prize pool that has been the subject of further changes by the PGA Tour.

This year's playoffs will distribute $100,000,000, divided by "snapshot" of the ranking at three different points.

The top 10 players in the rankings at the start of the first playoff (i.e., the one that starts today) will split $20 million, with $10 million going to the top-ranked player.

The magnificent thirty players who will take to the field in Atlanta, even before hitting the practice range, will split nearly $23 million, with $5 million going to the ranking leader after the BMW Championship.

The remainder of the prize pool ($57.08 million, to be precise to the penny) is earmarked for the Tour Championship, with a first-place prize of $10,000,000.

The rationale behind this scheme is to rebalance the prize pool distribution among all those who have reached the key moment of the season.

And here's where I want to introduce the most gossipy part of the title.

Rory McIlroy, surprising everyone (primarily Peter Malnati, one of the Tour's player directors, who said he was "very concerned" about the Northern Irishman's decision—Editor's note), has announced his intention not to play in Memphis.

The reigning Masters Champion is currently second in the FedEx rankings with 3,444 points and essentially already has a ticket to East Lake in his pocket, as well as, based on the above, a significant share of the first tranche of the prize money.

Back in November, McIlroy told the Telegraph:

"I probably won't play the playoff in Memphis."

"This year (2024), I basically finished in the bottom 68 (Editor's note: T68) and lost a spot in the playoff rankings."

His confirmed absence deprives the first playoff stop of one of the Tour's stars, and it remains to be seen whether we will see McIlroy in action at the BMW Championship.

Why Rory McIlroy is sitting out the first FedEx play-off tournament

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Auto & Truck Manufacturers (NEC)

Golf fans have already turned their attention to the FedEx Cup playoffs, which start this week, and the important figure in this competition was supposed to be Rory McIlroy. However, the Northern Irish golfer made a bizarre decision that surprised all golf fans: He will not perform! 

TPC Southwind in Memphis will host the first of three final tournaments, and all eyes are on the winner of this competition. 

The 35-year-old golfer will not compete at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, despite being right behind Scheffler.

His name is not on the list of participants, and fans are already speculating about the reasons behind Rory's decision. However, the rule change allowed players to skip the playoff, without losing their chance for the Tour Championship. 

Rory McIlroy will not start his adventure two strokes behind Scheffler, although the previous system required such a rule. 

The first 30 from the FedEx Cup list after the BMW Championship will qualify for the Tour Championship. Having a big advantage over others, McIlroy is safe. 

There is a chance that McIlroy will play: Will it happen?

On the other hand, there are still real chances that McIlroy will play at the BMW Championship next week; tournament whose prize fund of 15 million pounds arouses public interest. 

Rory McIlroy has won the FedEx Cup before, and the last time it happened was in 2022, when he once again showed all the luxury of talent and quality. 

The winner of the FedEx Cup will take home £7.5 million, while the total bonus pool amounts to £75 million.

There’s no doubt this is a big motivation for all golfers, and all eyes will be on Rory McIlroy to see if the experienced star can lift the trophy once again. 

It will be difficult, but it is clear that the 35-year-old has the qualities to be at the top.

It is not known how motivated he is to triumph in this competition, but time will give the best answer.