Citing the current playoff structure and his busy late-season schedule, Rory McIlroy on Wednesday defended his decision to skip last week’s playoff opener at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

McIlroy was the only player in the 70-man field who elected not to compete in the first of three playoff events at TPC Southwind. He didn’t lose any ground in the standings, remaining at No. 2 heading into this week’s BMW Championship, and is still unable to pass Scottie Scheffler for the top spot.

That’s not as significant as in years’ past, with the Tour announcing midway through the season that it was changing the format of the season finale, from a staggered-strokes start to a winner-take-all, 72-hole event.

The top 5 players in the FedExCup standings after this week will receive at least a $1 m

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