Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell head for the FedEx St Jude Classic
The world number two Rory McIlroy is grouped with Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell for the opening two rounds of the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis, scheduled to start from Thursday, June 7, 2012.
Usually the players on the PGA Tour skip this tournament in order to take some rest prior to the start of the US Open, scheduled for next week.
However, this trio has decided to make their appearance in Memphis in order to give a boost to their morale with good finishes in the event.
All the three players have struggled in the past few tournaments, which forced them to think about tweaking their games through the last PGA Tour event before the US Open.
McIlroy, who is the defending Champion this year in San Francisco, missed the cut in each of the last three tournaments that he played.
Harrington is also facing almost the same condition after missing three of the last four cuts and has slipped down to the 96th position in the Official World Golf Rankings.
McDowell, who had to leave early in the BMW PGA Championship two weeks ago, is also aiming to return back to form through one of the most underrated tournaments on the PGA Tour.
Usually McIlroy does not play a week before any of the major events each year. However, the poor form this year forced him to change his schedule recently, as he confirmed his participation in the tournament prior to moving to Muirfield Village last week.
"In Heathrow about to go to the US. Excited about the next 3 weeks! Memorial, Memphis and then defend the US Open in San Fran," McIlroy tweeted on Monday, before the Memorial Tournament.
After missing the cut at the BMW PGA Championship, McIlroy believed that he might get back to form through the Memorial and Jude Classic.
"I just feel like I've lacked competitive rounds a little bit," McIlroy said, after missing the cut at Wentworth. "I'm still confident in my abilities. It's just a matter of working hard and trying to bring it up a level from where it has been the last couple
of weeks".
However, the Memorial did not allow him to make a comeback. Therefore, it will be his last chance to return to perfect shape before the US Open begins next week.
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