Rory McIlroy's immediate reaction to disappointing performance at FedEx St Jude

Rory McIlroy has admitted he felt increasingly "lost" with his golf swing after a disappointing return to action at the FedEx St Jude Championship.

The World No.2 finished a lowly solo 66th in the 69-man field at TPC Southwind, carding rounds of 74, 70, 72 and 72 to finish 8-over par.

McIlroy arrived in Memphis following a three-week break from competitive golf after finishing tied 40th at The Open at Royal Birkdale. 

The PGA Tour superstar subsequently enjoyed holidays in Ibiza and Greece with friends and family, meaning he returned to action short of competitive reps.

The lack of preparation appeared to catch up with the record three-time FedExCup champion, who failed to break 70 in any of his four rounds.

“Obviously didn't come in here with a ton of reps, almost felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit,” McIlroy told reporters Sunday. 

“I figured it out a little bit the last few holes today, I think. Yeah, swing wasn't in sync and obviously didn't do a ton of practice coming in here.”

McIlroy did take some positives from getting four competitive rounds under his belt, but conceded he now has plenty of work to do before next week's BMW Championship at Bellerive.

“I guess 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 continued.

McIlroy now plans to return home and work with his coach Michael Bannon and caddie Harry Diamond before travelling to Bellerive on Tuesday.

“Just try to get the swing into some sort of better sync and better flow,” said the Northern Irishman, while stressing his immediate priority is improving the execution of his current swing rather than making wholesale changes.

“The execution wasn't there this week,” McIlroy added. 

“I'm going to have to sort of put the head down and grind from now until Thursday to try to feel like I have any sort of chance next week.”

Watch McIlroy's FedEx St Jude reaction here: 

Despite his poor finish, McIlroy dropped only one place to 13th in the FedExCup standings, leaving him in a strong position to reach the 30-man Tour Championship at East Lake.

However, the BMW Championship will offer a much clearer indication of whether Memphis was simply a case of rust or a more serious loss of form.

While McIlroy struggled, World No.1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler claimed a commanding victory at TPC Southwind, securing his second PGA Tour title of the season and the 21st of his career.

Scheffler won the FedEx Cup in 2024.