McIlroy may skip first leg of FedExCup Playoffs

Rory McIlroy is considering skipping the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs next week to rest and find his form ahead of the remainder of the playoff events and the Ryder Cup. McIlroy is ranked seventh in the world after finishing 14 strokes behind winner Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship last week. He said he doesn't traditionally play particularly well at The Northern Trust, which will be held in Paramus, N.J. next week, and may use the time to work on his game. "I will do some practice this week and see if I feel ready to go there (New Jersey) and play five out of six weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup," the 29-year-old Northern Irishman said, via the BBC. The Ryder Cup will take place in France from Sept. 28-30, with the four-event FedExCup Playoffs concluding the Sunday before. McIlroy won the FedExCup in 2016 and is currently 21st in the 2017-18 standings. The top 125 players in the rankings qualify for The Northern Trust, with the top 100 earning a spot in the Deutsche Bank Championship the following week. The field is cut to the top 70 players and ties for the BMW Championship and then to the top 30 for the season-ending Tour Championship at Eastlake in Atlanta. "The best thing might be to take that first FedExCup week off and come back hopefully in a better place," he said. "Historically the first FedEx playoff event hasn't been my best of the four." --Field Level Media