Rory McIlroy openly acknowledged that he remains dissatisfied with the state of his swing as the season draws to a close with the Tour Championship, even though he came agonisingly close to a win at the BMW Championship. The Northern Irish star said his game feels "far away" from where it ought to be after a lackluster showing at the FedEx St.
Jude Championship, where he finished 66th out of 68 competitors, only to rebound dramatically in St. Louis.
At Bellerive Country Club, the world No. 2 birdied three of his last four holes in the third round, pulling himself within five strokes of the leader, Wyndham Clark. That surge set up a Sunday showdown with the US Open champion, and McIlroy eventually matched Clark on the final day, sharing the lead with three holes remaining. Despite the tie, the Irishman ultimately slipped to third place, finishing four shots behind Clark, who closed with a three‑birdie run to secure a three‑stroke victory and his third PGA Tour triumph of the year.
"I'm closer [with my game] than I was at the start of the week," McIlroy said in the post‑round interview. "I'm still not in a spot where I'm super happy with where my game is or where my swing is, so I just have to keep working on it." He added, "It's nice to know, even when I'm not super happy with everything, I can still piece it together and get it around and still give myself a chance to win tournaments." The Irishman capitalised on a two‑shot swing on the opening hole and recovered from bogeys on the fourth and seventh to string together three birdies over a four‑hole stretch beginning at the eighth. That run brought him level after Clark had stumbled, posting three over par through his first ten holes.
Clark, however, regained momentum with a 15‑foot birdie putt on the 16th and followed it with another birdie on the next par‑five, while McIlroy dropped a shot. Clark then sealed his win with a final‑hole birdie, extending his margin over runner‑up Patrick Cantlay. Reflecting on his overall performance, McIlroy said, "I felt like most of my game held up today. Obviously, going out in the final group and you're working on some stuff, you're just hoping that everything stays the way it is.
I hit it well on the back nine. I gave myself plenty of chances. I just couldn't get a putt to drop there in those final few holes. I always felt like I needed to just get my nose ahead to really try to put the pressure on Wyndham and I couldn't." He continued, "We were tied there for a few holes and then when he made that putt on 16 for a two and I couldn't answer – that was obviously a huge moment in the round and in the tournament.
Overall, I'm encouraged with how I played this week and certainly something to build on going into East Lake." Both competitors found trouble off the tee on the par‑five 17th. Clark elected to lay up, setting up a birdie opportunity, while McIlroy took a more aggressive line, ending up bunker‑to‑bunker and ultimately carding a tournament‑ending bogey. "I tried to get it up a bit too far," McIlroy admitted afterward.
"I should have been taking that left bunker out of play. If you're going to lay it up, lay it up, so just another stupid decision with a lay‑up on a par‑five that cost me." When asked whether he felt he deserved the win, McIlroy told CBS Sports, "I can't be too disappointed. I'm probably not playing well enough to be disappointed that I didn't win.
I had my chances on the back nine and hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in. Wyndham Clark stepped up when he needed to. His birdie on 16 was huge and the way he played the last three holes, he showed a lot of character." The PGA Tour season now heads toward its climax at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, where only the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings will compete for the $10 million first prize and the coveted FedExCup trophy.
The final event will determine who finishes the year atop the points race, and fans can follow all four rounds live on Sky Sports Golf, with streaming options available via NOW without a contract. As the season winds down, McIlroy’s candid reflections suggest he will head into the Tour Championship with a clear agenda: fine‑tune his swing, regain confidence, and aim to convert his strong play into a victory when the stakes are highest.