Rory McIlroy admits he must find a way to shake off his “nearly man” tag as he begins his quest for a fourth FedExCup win in the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis.

The Co Down man was disappointed to fade from contention late on the back nine in the Olympic Games in Paris, just weeks after letting a chance to win the US Open slip through his fingers at Pinehurst No 2.

“I just have to finish off tournaments better,” said McIlroy, who enters the first of three Playoff events in third place behind Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.  

“There's been glimpses where I have done it, like Quail Hollow, for example, but obviously US Open, you know, Olympics.

“Yeah, I just, it's just sort of, I feel like this year, maybe the last couple of years, I've just found a way to hit the wrong shot at the wrong time.”

On what he might change going forward, he said “That might go into preparation and trying to practice a little more under pressure at home.

“You know, you go through these things in golf, and you go through these little challenges, and you just have to try to figure out a way to get through it.  

“And my challenge right now is, is that it's, it's really good, but not quite good enough to to sort of take home the silverware. So it's just, you know, something I'm having to work through.”

McIlroy made his “nearly man” reference after the final round of the Olympic Games in Paris, where he was a shot off the lead before he made a double bogey six after finding water with his approach to the 15th and finished tied for fifth, two shots outside the medals.

“I feel like I've been golf's ‘Nearly Man’ for the last three years,” he said at Le Golf National ten days ago.  

“I obviously want that tide to turn and go from the ‘Nearly Man’ to back to winning golf tournaments. It's all well and good saying I'm close and close and close. Once I actually step through the threshold and turn these near misses and close calls into wins, that's what I need to do.”

As the FedExCup playoffs begin, the PGA Tour has announced its 2025 schedule with only a few minor changes to what fans watched this year.

The campaign will begin with the first of 36 regular season events in Hawaii and conclude with three playoff events.

“The new schedule and competitive changes introduced in 2024 were significant steps toward creating the best version of the PGA Tour for our fans and players,” said Commissioner Jay Monahan.

Truist takes over from Wells Fargo as sponsor of the Truist Championship, which will be played at Philadelphia Cricket Club as  Quail Hollow hosts the PGA Championship the following week.

The US Open is at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh and The Open at Royal Portrush while The Memorial and the RBC Canadian Open have swapped dates so that the Memorial will be the last event before the US Open.   

The eight signature events are:

• The Sentry (Dec. 30-Jan. 5),

• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Jan. 27-Feb. 2);

• The Genesis Invitational (Feb. 10-16);

• Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 3-9);

• RBC Heritage (April 14-20);

• Truist Championship (May 5-11);

• the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (May 26-June 1);

• Travelers Championship (June 16-22).

Meanwhile, Royal Dublin’s Max Kennedy and Malone’s Matthew McClean failed to make the top 64 who qualified for the matchplay stages of the US Amateur in Minnesota.

After opening with two-under 68s at the Chaska Town Course on Monday, McClean shot a four-over 76 at Hazeltine National on Tuesday to miss out on two-over with Kennedy a shot further back after a 77.

Jimmy Ellis topped the qualifiers by a shot from fellow American Ethan Evans on 10-under after carding a nine-under 61 on the Chaska Town Course.

The cut for the top 64 fell at level par following a 14-man playoff for eleven spots.