McIlroy toils as Scheffler produces stunning 61 at St Jude Championship

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler produced a stunning second-round 61 at the FedEx St Jude Championship as Rory McIlroy toiled again. Scheffler charged in 54 feet of putts to birdie six of his first seven holes, and then closed with three consecutive birdies to total a nine-under 61 and three-shot lead at the turn of the PGA Tour's playoff opener. It was a striking turnaround for a player who admitted his patience was tested during the opening round in Memphis with 33 putts and too many missed opportunities. "Yesterday [Thursday] was a day in which I felt like I played better than my score, but also early in the round I was out of the fairway a lot," Scheffler said."It could have been a day in which my score could have definitely been worse, and it definitely could have been a lot better. But today was a day in which I felt I got a lot out of the round." McIlroy, who endured an opening day to forget sitting on four over, failed to turn things around on the second day either as a poor finish saw him bogey the 17th and 18th holes to remain on four over, some 15 shots behind Scheffler. All the latest golf leaderboards | Live golf on Sky Sports this week🏌️‍♂️PGA Tour: Full 2026 schedule and key dates 📆Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺 Twitter This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only. Meanwhile, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre pulled out of the event, citing a knee injury after a woeful opening round saw him sit on 12 over par. Also See: PGA Tour 2026 - tournament schedule Stream the PGA Tour with no contract When is golf live on Sky Sports? Listen to the Sky Sports Golf Podcast How do the FedExCup Playoffs work?All season long, players have earned points based on how they have performed in PGA Tour events, with extra points available for the signature events and majors.Only the top 70 in the standings have reached the FedEx St Jude Championship (August 13-16), with just the top 50 then progressing to the BMW Championship (August 20-23) and then only the top 30 making it to the finale, The Tour Championship (August 27-30).Winners of the first two play-off events earn 750 points apiece - the same as The Players and the majors - before the points reset to zero ahead of the Tour Championship.In the closing event, all players begin at even par, with the starting-strokes model based on FedExCup placings at that point axed in 2025.The winner of the Tour Championship becomes FedExCup champion for 2026, earning $10m (£7.4m) and a five-year PGA Tour exemption.Live coverage of the first event of the PGA Tour's FedExCup Playoffs, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, continues at 4pm on Saturday. Watch live on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event or stream with no contract. Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland