Expectations were running high for Rory McIlroy after he defended his Masters title this year. But by the time he reached Royal Birkdale, his form had taken a sharp downturn, culminating in a T40 finish. Instead of improving, he jetted off to Greece before stopping in Ibiza, Spain, taking some much-needed time away from golf. However, the break did little to spark a turnaround. When he returned to the St. Jude Championship, his struggles continued, prompting him to issue a statement.

“Obviously, [I] didn’t come in here with a ton of reps, almost felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit,” McIlroy said. “I figured it out a little bit the last few holes today, I think. Swing wasn’t in sync, and obviously didn’t do a ton of practice coming in here. I guess nice to shake the rust off a little bit, but I’m going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week.”

The World No. 2 opened the tournament with a 4-over-par 74, carding four bogeys and a double bogey. His second round was an improvement, as he balanced three bogeys with three birdies to finish at even par. But things took another turn in the third round, where two bogeys and a double bogey left him with a 2-over-par 72.

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Sunday’s final round offered the Northern Irishman a chance to salvage the week, but he made a mess of things almost immediately, opening with a double bogey. He followed it with five more bogeys, although five birdies helped limit the damage. He ultimately finished the round 2-over-par 72.

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Despite the disappointing performance, McIlroy’s No. 13 position in the FedEx Cup standings means he will still tee it up at Bellerive Golf Course next week. And the former World No. 1 has now revealed that he plans to use the time to work on his game and return stronger for the BMW Championship.

“I’m going to go home. I’ll work with Michael and Harry. Yeah, just try to get the swing into some sort of better sync and better flow,” he added. “Then, yeah, go to Bellerive Tuesday and obviously try to prepare for that golf course. To me, it’s more about the execution of what I’m doing right now, and the execution wasn’t there this week. As I said, I’m going to have to sort of put my head down and grind from now until Thursday to try to feel like I have any sort of chance next week.”

And it’s becoming increasingly important for Rory McIlroy to find his game. Aside from his lone victory this season, he has failed to add another trophy to his collection. To make matters worse, the Northern Irishman has managed just four top-10 finishes.

The six-time major champion has openly acknowledged that he wants to spend more time with his family. But for now, that reduced schedule appears to be taking a toll on his performances. So, it would be interesting to see what he does next week.