Rory McIlroy returned to PGA TOUR play last week after finishing his patriotic duties for Northern Ireland in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, he struggled right out of the gate in the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, scoring a 72 in the first round. That’s also the last tournament for him before teeing off in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Rory McIlroy would later pin the blame on the adjustments his body had to make in order to cope up with the travel from Japan to the United States.

Via Josh Lees of Express:

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“I feel like it’s a week of what could’ve been. I saw a stat that 12 of the 13 guys who played the Olympics last week lost their three ball matches on the first day. So jet-lag was a pretty apparent thing. But once I shook that off, I played well the rest of the week.”

Indeed. Once Rory McIlroy got hot, he stayed hot the rest of the way. He scored four-under 66 in each of the next three rounds to finish 10-under par before settling for a T12. Rory McIlroy also earned 25 FedEx Cup points, bringing his season’s total to 1,224 — good for the 25th spot.

With his spot in the playoffs safe (the top 125 players will make it to the first phase of the playoffs), Rory McIlroy would use this week to rest up, which means he will be skipping the 2021 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club down in Greensboro.