Rory McIlroy openly acknowledged that he remains dissatisfied with the state of his swing as he approaches the season‑ending Tour Championship, even though he came agonisingly close to winning the BMW Championship a week earlier. After a lackluster showing at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he finished 66th out of 68 competitors, McIlroy produced a markedly better display at Bellerive Country Club in St.
Louis, sparking a brief surge of optimism that quickly gave way to the familiar frustration of a top‑ranked player chasing perfection. In the third round at Bellerive, the world No. 2 birdied three of his final four holes, catapulting himself to within five strokes of the tournament leader, Wyndham Clark.
That performance set up a Sunday showdown with the US Open champion, and McIlroy managed to draw level with Clark on the final day, briefly sharing the lead with just three holes remaining. Ultimately, however, Clark rallied with a three‑birdie finish to secure a three‑stroke victory, his third PGA Tour win of the season, while McIlroy settled for third place, four strokes behind.
"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.
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." McIlroy’s round began with a two‑shot swing on the opening hole, and after early bogeys on the fourth and seventh, he rebounded impressively, posting three birdies over a four‑hole stretch that began on the eighth. This surge brought him level with Clark, who had struggled with three over his first ten holes.
The momentum shift gave the Northern Irishman a realistic chance to challenge for the title. Clark, however, regained his composure on the back‑nine. A 15‑foot birdie putt on the 16th hole gave him a two‑stroke edge, and he followed that with a birdie on the par‑five 17th after a well‑executed two‑shot swing.
McIlroy, attempting to answer, dropped a shot on the same hole, allowing Clark to extend his lead. Clark then sealed the win with another birdie on the 18th, finishing three strokes ahead of Patrick Cantlay and solidifying his dominance. Reflecting on his own performance, McIlroy noted, "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 [Clark] and I couldn't." He added that the pivotal moment arrived on the 16th, when Clark’s birdie putt swung the momentum decisively in his favour. "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 themselves in the rough off the tee on the par‑five 17th. Clark chose to lay up, a conservative strategy that ultimately led to a birdie.
McIlroy, by contrast, attempted a more aggressive approach, ending up in a bunker and then another, ultimately carding a bogey that cost him dearly. "I tried to get it up a bit too far," McIlroy admitted.
"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 CBS Sports asked whether he felt he deserved the win, McIlroy replied, "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 BMW Championship was the penultimate event of the PGA Tour season, leading into the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Only the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings will compete for the $10 million first prize and the coveted FedExCup trophy. As the season draws to a close, the pressure on players like McIlroy intensifies; every shot can be the difference between a career‑defining victory and a missed opportunity.
Looking ahead, McIlroy’s remarks suggest a blend of realism and resolve. He recognises that his swing is not yet where he wants it to be, yet he also sees the capacity to contend even when his game is not at its peak.
The upcoming Tour Championship will test his ability to translate that belief into results, and fans will be watching closely to see whether he can close the gap between expectation and execution before the season ends.