In the scheme of things, Rory McIlroy didn’t need to play in next week’s opening FedEx Cup playoff event on the PGA Tour, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. In fact, he’s proving how little he needs to play in a lot of the tour’s big-money events.

The FedEx St. Jude Championship will have a very notable absence next week. Rory McIlroy to skip the FedEx Cup event at TPC Southwind.

The reigning Masters champion wasn't in the St. Jude field released by the PGA Tour on Friday. The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings after the conclusion of this week's Wyndham Championship will qualify for the event, so with McIlroy's absence, the field in Memphis, Tennessee, next week will stand at 69.