World No. 2 Rory McIlroy was feeling the heat in Tennessee. About to feature at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the Irishman knew things might get worse over the weekend.

After a relatively disappointing season, despite the back-to-back Masters victory, McIlroy, currently 12th in the FedExCup standings, will now begin the postseason at Memphis. He was already anticipating the heat.

“Yeah, the heat is -- you know, it's hot. That's always the way when you come to Memphis in August, that's the way it's going to be,” McIlroy said on Wednesday. “It's not like -- yeah, I think the weekend is going to be a little tougher than these last few days, but it's fine.”

The FedEx St. Jude Championship will be held at TPC Southwind from 13th to 16th August. The 37-year-old pointed out that the limited elite field of 69 players will not take as much time as a full field.

“We're going to be out there for probably like 4 hours. It's not like you're in that heat for 5-1/2, 6 hours with a full field. So I guess that's a positive,” said McIlroy in a press conference, accessed via ASAP Sports.

Four-time PGA Tour winner Daniel Berger has withdrawn from the tournament due to a lingering back injury. 

As a result, the field will compete in traditional two-ball pairings, with only No. 70 Jackson Koivun teeing up alone. The twosome pairing style will certainly boost the pace of play.

For the opening two rounds, McIlroy will pair up with World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, and all eyes will be on the duo. 

Last year, McIlroy faced a lot of backlash for skipping this event. This year he has shown up and explained his decision.

Why Rory McIlroy Returned After Skipping Last Year

Six-time major winner Rory McIlroy revealed that he skipped the FedEx St. Jude Championship to take some time off before the final two events of the season. 

“Yeah, a few different things went into that decision. 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,” McIlroy said in the same press conference.

McIlroy reportedly received a message from the PGA Tour last year, disapproving of his decision to opt out. The Irishman was already through to the next stage and thus had decided to withdraw.

However, this time around, he has certainly tweaked his approach. In the heat, the 37-year-old will warm himself up for the rest of the postseason.

“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,” he added.

After conversations with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, McIlroy will now tee up at TPC Southwind in hopes of adding to his PGA Playoff titles.

What are your thoughts on the conditions at TPC Southwind? Let us know!

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Rudra Dubey