Rory McIlroy looks out of form at FedEx St Jude Championship. He spent almost three weeks on vacation without swinging his club. This week, he revealed that he had gained weight during that time.
McIlroy definitely looked more beefed up this season than the past year. Talking to Luke Kerr Dineen of Golf Digest he said that his “fighting weight” is 174lbs. But after the vacation he now weighs 180 lbs.
“A back injury scare pushed him to the cutting edge of strength training in golf,” Dineen writes. “The results speak for themselves.”
To reach a 190 mph ball speed, McIlroy needed the muscles.
“Look at me. I don’t have the levers. I need to lift,” McIlroy said to Dineen last year. “I need to be strong. If I’m not strong, I don’t get to 190 mph ball speed.”
But those extra pounds he gained during his vacation weren’t muscles and that is certainly showing up on the course.
Rory McIlroy Looks Very Out of Form
GettyRory McIlroy plays his shot from the seventh tee during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2026.
McIlroy shot 4-over par on Thursday. He putted four bogeys and a double bogey. He lost his edge over those three weeks and that was expected.
His putting coach Brad Faxon already warned about the result. Faxon predicted that McIlroy was going to use Memphis as a practice ground to get back in form. He was not going to perform very well as hasn’t swung a club since Birkdale.
After his first-round performance, McIlroy got to work. He went to the driving range and hit more than 100 balls with Michael Bannon to get his game back on track before it fell apart.
CBS Sports’ Patrick McDonald feels the six-time major winner is more interested for the European events.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he cares more about this stretch on the European Tour after the postseason than the postseason itself,” McDonald said. “You have the Irish Open defense, you have the BMW PJ Championship, which he has come really close to. And then of course he’ll go to India, get a nice appearance fee there and all that fun stuff.”
Rory McIlroy Felt Quite Good About His Swings
GettyRory McIlroy of Northern during the Pro Am prior to the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2026.
Despite the break, after returning to practice during the week, McIlroy felt quite good about how his swing felt.
“I like the feeling of being able to release it; rotating enough of my lower body to then be able to feel like I shake hands with the target,” he revealed to Dineen. “Sometimes if I don’t turn enough, my right arm thrusts out [to the right], instead of down the line. Making sure my body rotation is enough to then feel like I can shake hands with the target, basically.”
McIlroy will be hoping to turn things around on Friday.
Rory McIlroy Announces Personal News at FedEx St Jude Championship