Rory McIlroy finished tied for 40th at The Open. On his way out of Royal Birkdale, he had things to say about the course and about how little the PGA Tour race actually motivates him right now.

McIlroy spoke to reporters Sunday, July 19, following his final-round 1-over 71 at the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. He finished at even par for the weekend and tied for 40th overall.

On the course itself, McIlroy was direct.

"I feel like with a lot of the changes they made, the greens were raised up and a lot of the fall-offs and stuff, it didn't play like a traditional links course," he said in the presser as posted by Fried Egg Golf on X on July 19. "I didn't feel like you could run the ball up to a lot of greens. There was a lot of stuff where you still had to fly the ball on."

Royal Birkdale underwent redesigns before this year's championship. Those changes, in McIlroy's view, removed the low running-ball options that define traditional links play, replacing them with forced aerial approaches that made the course feel different from what players expect at The Open.

His major season as a whole told two different stories. He won the Masters for the second straight year. The three majors that followed produced a T-8 at the PGA Championship, a T-32 at the U.S. Open, and now a T-40 at The Open.

He confirmed after his round that he will not play again before the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis.

That break fits with the change in priorities McIlroy talked about after his round. When asked if the PGA Tour and FedEx Cup still motivate him, he gave a clear and direct answer.

"Yeah, that's fair," he said.

The reporter asked him the question directly, and McIlroy gave a clear answer. McIlroy laid out exactly how he is thinking about the PGA Tour season.

Rory McIlroy explains why the FedEx Cup race no longer drives his schedule

For a player of McIlroy's standing, the calculation is straightforward.

"There's been years where I've given it maybe more of my attention and years I haven't," he said, accessed via ASAP Sports. "I guess I'm just at a stage that I have other things that I prioritize."

He also pointed to the structure of the FedEx Cup playoffs as a specific reason.

"The change where it doesn't matter where you are in the top 30 going into the Tour Championship. It's like I just need to be in the top 30 going in there to have a chance to win a FedExCup," he said. "So why would I care about the first two?"

The current format means players who are safely inside the top 30 do not have to worry much about the first two playoff events. For McIlroy, who is already in a strong position after winning the Masters and playing well earlier this season, the Tour Championship at East Lake in late August is his main goal.

His major season is now complete. A second straight Masters title was the standout result. The three majors that followed produced a T-8, a T-32, and a T-40.

Do you think Rory McIlroy's reduced PGA Tour schedule is the right call at this stage of his career? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at Club Golf.

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar