Shane Lowry might prefer that he'd stayed away as he bids to keep his FedEx Cup Play-off hopes alive, but Rory McIlroy admits it's important he tees it up alongside Scottie Scheffler in steamy Memphis this week.
As Lowry bids to finish no worse than a two-way tie for 11th in the FedEx St Jude Championship so he can jump from 62nd into the top 50 who make the second play-off event in St Louis next week, McIlroy knows he needs to be sharp for the season-ending Tour Championship if he wants to win his fourth FedEx Cup.
"A few different things went into that decision," said the three-time FedEx Cup winner, who resisted the temptation to skip the event for the second year running.
"I think having four weeks off going into the last two events of the year was probably going to be a little too much for me in terms of wanting to be competitive.
"So this is a good week -- obviously I want to play well, but it's also a good week to just see where my game is, do a lot of practice, or as much as I can in the heat."
McIlroy admitted at The Open that he was no longer as fired up about the FedEx Cup as he was in the past and opted to travel to Memphis for the first time since 2024 after a chat with PGA TOUR commissioner Brian Rolapp.
"I think it's important to be here. It's the Tour's play-offs, and I think it's important for all the players to be here," said the two-time Masters champion who, at 11th in the standings, enters the Play-offs ranked outside the top 10 for the first time since 2021
"I've had some good conversations with Brian Rolapp over the last couple of weeks.
"I think it's important for me to be here and show support and looking forward to teeing it up."
He's relieved that two-balls will mean shorter round times at the start of a gruelling three-week run in extreme heat.
"I almost try to view the Play-offs as one big, long tournament, like a 12-round event," he said. "You've got to pace yourself. It's three long weeks.
"We're going from here to St. Louis to Atlanta. Every week is going to feel a bit like this. It's going to be hot and sweaty. So you want to be able to conserve energy as well.
"I've been lucky enough to do pretty well on these things over the years. So try to add another one to the list."
The FedEx Cup will likely decide who wins the PGA Tour's Player of the Year award, and McIlroy believes the vote is a matter of personal perspective.
"Oh, geez, it's a hard one because I think right now it's objectively there's no one that really stands out, but subjectively it depends what you value," he said.
“So if you value winning the biggest tournaments, you would say it could be Cameron Young and Wyndham Clark in terms of one won The Players, one won the US Open.
"Obviously Matt Fitzpatrick has had a great year. Scottie's had an unbelievably consistent year without the wins that he's had the last couple years.
“Again, it all depends on what you value, I guess. I guess I value like the bigger tournaments and guys having the bigger moments."
McIlroy has three top-five finishes in eight starts at TPC Southwind, but Lowry's tie for sixth in 2020 is his only finish inside the top dozen.
The Offaly man continues to play great golf for little reward, and his failure to record a top 20 finish since he let the Cognizant Classic slip away in March likely owes much to his admission at The Open that he's trying too hard.
On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh start a three-week run that will culminate with the KPMG Women's Irish Open at The K Club when they tee it up in the Standard Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.
Maguire (31) will be looking to get sharp for her fourth Solheim Cup appearance in the Netherlands next month after receiving a wildcard from captain Anna Nordqvist.
"It's a busy stretch, lots of competitive golf, which is nice for staying sharp," said Maguire, who will play next week's CPKC Women's Open in Edmonton before jetting home with Walsh for the Women's Irish Open.
"It's just fine-tuning a few things and hopefully keep that putter nice and warm for Bernardus."
On the DP World Tour, Spain's Eugenio Chacarra will be looking to close the gap on McIlroy in the Race to Dubai at the Danish Golf Championship at Great Northern.
The Spaniard claimed his second win of the season and the third of his European Tour career in June's Italian Open and lies third in the Race to Dubai.
On the Ladies European Tour, Áine Donegan will be looking to build on her first career top-10 in last week's PIF London Championship when she tees it up in the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open.
The Ennis rookie, who faded from third to tie tenth at Centurion Club after a poor finish, is up to 67th in the Order of Merit and keen to move higher with just the top 70 keeping their cards.
She's joined at Migros Golfpark Holzhäusern by Sara Byrne, 53rd in the rankings, Anna Foster (61st), Olivia Mehaffey (137th) and Annabel Wilson (179th).