Rory McIlroy sinks to career-low with nightmare not going away

Rory McIlroy's performance at the FedEx St Jude Championship this past weekend was one of his career's worst , finishing in a concerning 68th place, in what has just gotten worse and worse as it has gone on .

Surprisingly, Jordan Speith and Max Homa also played poorly, being the only two men to finish below him.

McIlroy ended the tournament with some alarming statistics , including having the second-worst driving week of his career (-4.015), the 21st-worst approach week of his career (-3.126), and the third-worst putting week of his career (-7.833).

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The world number three finished at nine-over-par - a staggering 26 shots more than winner Hideki Matsuyama, dropping him to fifth in the FedEx Cup standings and leaving him 3,974 points behind leader Scottie Scheffler.

On Sunday, McIlroy made only one birdie, with his brutal round including a triple-bogey six at the par-three 14th after his tee shot landed in the water.

Earlier last week, McIlroy expressed that he'd begin to see himself as the sport's 'nearly man' following his recent disappointments at the US Open and Olympics.

This comes after he came agonizingly close to ending his 10-year wait for another major tournament win when he bogeyed three of his last four holes, including missing a two-foot putt as Bryson DeChambeau won his second US Open. Just weeks later, McIlroy seemed set to win a medal for Ireland at the Olympics but ultimately fell two shots short.

Before the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, Rory McIlroy shared with journalists: " I just have to finish off tournaments better. There's been glimpses where I have done it, like Quail Hollow, for example, but obviously US Open, you know, Olympics."

"Yeah, I just, it's just sort of, I feel like this year, maybe the last couple of years, I've just found a way to hit the wrong shot at the wrong time. That might go into preparation and trying to practice a little more under pressure at home. You know, you go through these things in golf, and you go through these little challenges, and you just have to try to figure out a way to get through it."

"And my challenge right now is, is that it's, it's really good, but not quite good enough to sort of take home the silverware," he added, acknowledging his period of introspection. "So it's just, you know, something I'm having to work through."

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