McIlroy begins FedEx Cup push with ‘marathon’ PGA playoffs

Washington, Aug 13 - Rory McIlroy is preparing for an arduous golf marathon as he aims for his fourth FedEx Cup title on the US PGA Tour, beginning with the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tennessee. "I almost try to view the playoffs as one big, long tournament, like a 12-round event," McIlroy said to reporters as he prepares to play at TPC Southwind after skipping the playoffs last year.

"You've got to pace yourself. It's three long weeks. We're going from here to St. Louis to Atlanta... I've tried to treat it like one big long golf tournament and sort of get into the rhythm of it and go from there." McIlroy is currently 12th in the playoff standings and assured of participating in both the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, the top 30 players dropping down to this stage.

He was ranked second in the playoff standings last year when he opted out of the opening event. McIlroy believes his decision this year to compete in all three tournaments is due to the importance of the Tour's playoffs. "I think it's important to be here. It's the Tour's playoffs, and I think it's important for all the players to be here," he added.

World number one Scottie Scheffler is leading the FedEx Cup standings and will be looking for a strong start in Memphis, where he has finished in the top five in his past two starts. McIlroy, who hasn't played since finishing tied for 40th in the British Open in July, has played only six PGA Tour events since winning his second straight Masters title in April.

He aims to stay in the dual PGA Tour and DP World Tour membership without adding an extra PGA Tour stop during his late-season schedule that includes several global events. McIlroy and Scheffler are set to tee off on Thursday alongside each other.