Rory McIlroy admitted he is "so far away" from where he needs to be after struggling to a 66th-place finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
The six-time major winner ended the opening event of the PGA Tour's FedExCup Playoffs on eight over par, posting rounds of 74, 70, 72 and 72.
McIlroy had an 18th hole to forget during his opening round and bemoaned his poor form throughout the week. He said he did not arrive with a lot of practice or repetitions.
"I felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing," McIlroy said. "Figured it out a little bit the last few holes today but my swing wasn't in sync and I didn't do a ton of practice coming in here."
Limited schedule
McIlroy successfully defended his Masters title earlier this year, shooting a one-under par 71 in his final round to win a second consecutive Green Jacket at Augusta National.
However, he has played a limited schedule since that major victory. His best showings have been tied-seventh finishes at the PGA Championship and the Scottish Open, marking his only top-10 results in seven tournaments.
He entered the first of the three playoff events sitting 12th in the season-long standings. The Northern Irishman is bidding to win a record-extending fourth season-ending title, but acknowledges his game needs significant improvement.
"I am so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance so I've just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit," he said.
FedExCup Playoffs format
Only the top 70 players in the season-long FedExCup standings qualified for the St. Jude Championship. Following the event, the top 50 in the rankings progress to the BMW Championship, which runs from August 20 to 23.
The field is then cut again, with only the top 30 players making it to the season-ending Tour Championship from August 27 to 30.
Winners of the first two play-off events earn 750 points each. The standings are then reset to zero ahead of the Tour Championship.
Following a rule change introduced in 2025, the starting-strokes model based on previous FedExCup placings has been axed. All players will now begin the final tournament at even par.
The winner of the Tour Championship will be crowned the 2026 FedExCup champion, earning a $10m (£7.4m) prize and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
Preparing for Bellerive
The second stage of the playoffs takes place at Bellerive Country Club, and McIlroy says he must now prepare for that course while trying to fix his swing mechanics before play begins on Thursday.
"Obviously, I didn't come in here with a ton of reps," McIlroy said.
"I'm going to have to work pretty hard, put my head down and grind between now and next Thursday to have any sort of golf game to compete next week."
He added: "I'll go to Bellerive Country Club and try to prepare for that golf course. But it's more about the execution about what I'm doing right now and that wasn't there this week."
