McIlroy felt “lost” as Scheffler wins St Jude

Dubai: Rory McIlroy admitted he “felt lost” after enduring a difficult week at the St Jude Championship, finishing 66th and 25 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler, the world No. 1, produced a dominant display to finish 17 under par and secure his first victory since January.

For McIlroy, however, the tournament was a major concern, with his eight-over score leaving him ahead of only two players in the opening event of the three-stop FedEx Cup play-offs.

The Northern Irishman, who captured his second Masters title earlier this year, had not competed since the Open Championship in July.

His lack of competitive action appeared to show at TPC Southwind, as McIlroy failed to break par in any of his four rounds. He will now need to rediscover his form quickly if he is to challenge for a historic fourth FedEx Cup later this month.

"I'm so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance. I've just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit," said McIlroy, who is 13th in the season-long standings.

"Obviously didn't come in here with a ton of reps, almost felt like the more the week went on the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit.

"I guess nice to shake the rust off a little bit but I'm going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week.

"To me it's more about the execution of what I'm doing right now, and the execution wasn't there this week."

McIlroy’s difficulties were particularly evident in his performance from tee to green, with the four-time major winner ranking 62nd among the 68-player field for strokes gained in that area.

There was at least a brief glimpse of his best golf during a seven-hole spell on the back nine, when he carded four birdies. However, any momentum was quickly undone as he followed those gains with back-to-back bogeys, having also opened his round with a six on the par-four first hole.

Scheffler faced none of the uncertainty that plagued McIlroy, carrying a two-shot advantage into the final round and maintaining control throughout Sunday.

Playing alongside close friend and fellow American Sam Burns, the world No. 1 pulled seven shots clear of his playing partner by carding a four-under-par 66 to end a wait for victory that stretched back to 27 January.

Scheffler’s last success came at the American Express Open, but he showed little sign of pressure as he closed out the tournament in convincing fashion.

His round did include an unusual early bogey, after his bunker shot struck a sprinkler head before finding the water. Nevertheless, only Justin Rose managed to better Scheffler’s score on Sunday, with the Englishman shooting a six-under 64 to finish the tournament on level par.