Latest news with #Peter Malnati
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Peter Malnati is 'very concerned' after Rory McIlroy opts to skip first FedExCup Playoffs event
The FedExCup Playoffs are getting started in Memphis, but Rory McIlroy is taking the week off. While that's not something that's going to impact his postseason status whatsoever — McIlroy is entering the playoffs firmly in second in the standings, and will qualify for the Tour Championship regardless — at least one PGA Tour player board member isn't happy that McIlroy isn't at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. 'Very concerned,' Peter Malnati told Golfweek on Tuesday, adding that there may be 'stuff in the works' to try and prevent golfers from skipping postseason events in the future. The PGA Tour adjusted its playoff format slightly this season to remove the starting strokes format at the Tour Championship. This year, the 30 golfers who make it to East Lake will all start at even par. That, though, was the only change and left golfers the ability to skip events of their choosing. Since McIlroy entered the postseason with 3,444 points in the FedExCup race and only trails top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, he has absolutely no need to play in the first playoff event. He doesn't really need to play in the BMW Championship next week either, if he didn't want to. Even if he drops a few spots in the standings, he'd still enter the Tour Championship on even footing with the rest of the field. If anything, the format change to the Tour championship made the decision to skip the first tournament that much easier. McIlroy has won three times on Tour this season, most recently at the Masters — which made him just the sixth golfer in history to complete the career grand slam. He's had eight top-10 finishes this season and missed only a single cut while earning more than $16 million in prize money alone. He's going to play in several international, non-Tour events later this year, too. He also told The Telegraph last fall that he'd not be competing, so the move shouldn't come as a surprise. "I'll probably not play the first playoff event in Memphis," he said in November. "I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year and only moved down one spot in the playoff standings." Though Malnati wasn't too thrilled, Webb Simpson, who is also a player director on the Tour board, doesn't have an issue with McIlroy skipping this week. After all, Simpson did the same thing back in 2020. 'I knew I couldn't fall more than one spot and I thought losing one stroke at East Lake was worth a week of rest because I was toast,' he said. 'I don't know Rory's reason but I totally get it. It's a hard to thing to fix.' Simpson and McIlroy are far from alone here. Tiger Woods, for example, skipped the first playoff event in 2007 and then won the second two tournaments to win the inaugural FedExCup. Jim Furyk also won the FedExCup in 2010 while missing a tournament. As for implementing some sort of 'Rory rule' and forcing golfers to play, Simpson doesn't think that's very possible either. 'I think it's too hard of a thing to make guys have to play,' Simpson said. 'We're still a sport where you can play when you want to play.' McIlroy's absence this week certainly isn't the best look for the Tour as it kicks off the postseason, and it's unclear if new Tour CEO Brian Rolapp will move to actually implement some sort of rule to fix that in the future, but the FedEx St. Jude Championship will go on as scheduled. It'll just have a 69-man field instead of the full 70. And in a few weeks, McIlroy will have just as good of a shot as any to claim what would be his record fourth FedExCup. His absence this week will simply be a things of the past.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Rory McIlroy sparks concern among fellow players by skipping the first leg of PGA Tour playoffs
's latest absence from the PGA Tour isn't a surprise, but it is worrying to rivals fighting to legitimize the FedEx Cup playoffs. The five-time major winner is skipping this week's FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis at TPC Southwind, where he will be the only eligible player not participating in a tournament named for its top sponsor. Asked about the world's No. 2 opting out of one of the playoffs' three legs, rival golfer and PGA Tour Policy Board player director Peter Malnati told Golf Week he was 'very concerned.' Unfortunately for Malnati, there's not much the tour can do to stop McIlroy from skipping a third event this season. With 3,444 points in the FedEx Cup standings, second only to Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy has a comfortable 849-point cushion over third-place Sepp Straka. And since the current FedEx Cup format features a progressive cut, McIlroy can count on advancing to next week's BMW Championship in Owings Mills, Maryland. From there, provided he remains in the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings, McIlroy would advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. McIlroy actually played in the St. Jude Championship last year, finishing at the bottom of the filed without much of a penalty. 'I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year, and only moved down one spot in the playoff standings,' he told reporters in 2024. McIlroy has already earned $10 million this year thanks to a Masters win and other successes. But the loophole that allowed him to skate by to the second leg of the postseason could be up for review. 'I think there is stuff in the works and I'll leave it at that,' Malnati told Golfweek. Tour Policy Board member Webb Simpson didn't so quite so optimistic. 'I think it's too hard of a thing to make guys have to play,' Simpson told Golfweek. 'We're still a sport where you can play when you want to play.' The FedEx St. Jude Championship starts Thursday with $20 million in prize money at stake.
