Rory McIlroy has stated that an improvement in his performance at the BMW Championship in St Louis would feel like a victory. The world number two finished eight-over at last week’s St Jude Championship, placing third bottom of the leaderboard.
This follows a series of challenging performances for the back-to-back Masters champion, who returned to action in Memphis after tying for 40th at The Open. McIlroy, who will play alongside Xander Schauffele, hopes to use this opportunity to assess his game.
McIlroy commented at a pre-tournament press conference on Thursday that golf is not simply about winning or losing, and that some fifth-place finishes have felt like wins due to maximising his game. He added that seeing progress this week would be a "win" for him.
Despite his recent results, McIlroy is currently 13th in the play-off standings and is assured of a spot in the 30-man season-ending Tour Championship. He is also set to play in the Irish Open next month and the BMW Championship at Wentworth.