"Stuck in neutral a little bit this week" - Rory McIlroy needs a course record to win St. Jude FedEx Championship post ‘sloppy mistakes’

Rory McIlroy's mistakes have had a negative impact on his displays in the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

He started the event strong, shooting two rounds of 67-66. However, a handful of errors in the third round dropped him five strokes behind leader Lucas Glover. McIlroy finished the round sixth, tied with Sungjae Im, Tom Kim, Emiliano Grillo, and Viktor Hovland after playing 54 holes.

His odds to win the title this week are +1800, according to BetMGM.

Speaking about his performance on Saturday, Rory McIlroy said during a press conference:

“Just sort of sloppy mistakes... Like the three-putt on 9, wrong club on 6, leaving myself in the wrong spot. I feel like I’ve sort of been stuck in neutral a little bit this week.”

McIlroy needs to break the course record to win on Sunday, just like Justin Rose did in the third round of the tournament after shooting 61. Speaking of his chances to win the title on Sunday, he added:

“I’m going to need to go out tomorrow and shoot something like Justin Rose shot this morning, like a 61, 62 to have a chance."

Rory McIlroy began the FedEx St. Jude Championship in 2023 with a birdie on the fourth hole. In the first round on Thursday, August 10, he made a birdie on the sixth hole, then two back-to-back bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes, followed by a birdie on the ninth.

On the back nine of the first round, he also made a bogey, one birdie, and an eagle to finish with a score of 67.

Rory McIlroy began the tournament's second round with a birdie on the opening hole. He had five birdies and one bogey on Friday before shooting a 68 on Saturday, ending the second round with six birdies and four bogeys.

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When will Rory McIlroy start his game on Sunday at the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship?

The Northern Irish golfer will resume his game on the first tee hole of the TPC Southwind at 1:20 pm ET on Sunday, August 13. Rory McIlroy will pair up with Patrick Cantlay for the final round of the St. Jude Championship.

The fourth round is slated to start at 8:00 am ET with Sepp Straka and Wyndham Clark taking the first shot of the day followed by Alex Smalley and Seamus Power.

Scottie Scheffler will resume his play at 11:35 am ET with Chris Kirk and Jon Rahm will pair up with Hideki Matsuyama to start the game at 10:25 am ET.

Here are the tee times of the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship fourth round:

• 8 a.m. Sepp Straka, Wyndham Clark
• 8:10 a.m. Alex Smalley, Seamus Power
• 8:20 a.m. Jason Day, Matt Kuchar
• 8:30 a.m. Matt Fitzpatrick, Mark Hubbard
• 8:40 a.m. Harris English, Thomas Detry
• 8:50 a.m. Mackenzie Hughes, Rickie Fowler
• 9 a.m. Hayden Buckley, Keith Mitchell
• 9:10 a.m.Sam Burns, Denny McCarthy
• 9:20 a.m. Sam Stevens, Tom Hoge
• 9:30 a.m. Davis Riley, Tony Finau
• 9:40 a.m. Tyrrell Hatton, Brandon Wu
• 9:50 a.m. Matt NeSmith, Taylor Montgomery
• 10 a.m. Nick Hardy, Patrick Rodgers
• 10:10 a.m. Nick Taylor, Cameron Young
• 10:25 a.m. Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm
• 10:35 a.m. Sam Ryder, J.J. Spaun
• 10:45 a.m. Lee Hodges, Brian Harman
• 10:55 a.m. Andrew Putnam, Adam Svensson
• 11:05 a.m. Keegan Bradley, Vincent Norrman
• 11:15 a.m. Scottie Scheffler, Chris Kirk
• 11:25 a.m. Aaron Rai, Xander Schauffele
• 11:35 a.m. Sahith Theegala, Kurt Kitayama
• 11:45 a.m. Brendon Todd, Eric Cole
• 11:55 a.m. Justin Rose, Corey Conners
• 12:05 p.m. Stephan Jaeger, J.T. Poston
• 12:15 p.m. Adam Schenk, Ben An
• 12:25 p.m. Si Woo Kim, Ben Griffin
• 12:40 p.m. Adam Hadwin, Beau Hossler
• 12:50 p.m. Collin Morikawa, Cam Davis
• 1 p.m. Sungjae Im, Russell Henley
• 1:10 p.m. Tom Kim, Emiliano Grillo
• 1:20 p.m. Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy
• 1:30 p.m. Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland
• 1:40 p.m. Tommy Fleetwood, Max Homa
• 1:50 p.m. Lucas Glover, Taylor Moore