Ahead of the St. Jude Championship, Rory McIlroy made headlines when he decided to withdraw from the event. His status already cemented for the BMW Championship, McIlroy opted to take the weekend off to rest up for the penultimate FedEx Cup Playoff event at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings

While seven-figure payouts are up for grabs among those who finish inside the top three, six-figure sums will be dished out to all of those players who finish inside the top 40. Everyone inside the top 19 will clear $300,000, while everyone inside the top 11 will make more than a half million for a week's work in Owings Mills, Maryland.

With just two PGA Tour events left, the second FedExCup playoff tournament tees off Thursday in Maryland, as the BMW Championship brings together the top 50 golfers in the standings — and with them, plenty of intriguing storylines from the very first round.

McIlroy has had an up-and-down week at Caves Valley, from day-to-day and from hole-to-hole. After a 4-under 66 on Friday, he turned in a rollercoaster round of 71 on Saturday which features four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.

McIlroy is in the field at this week's BMW Championship, and he shared why he decided to skip last week, plus thoughts on the FedEx Cup playoff format.

One day before teeing at the BMW Championship, Rory McIlroy addressed the controversy around skipping the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

We have some great intel this week at Caves Valley. Keith Stewart, CEO of Read the Line and a member of our Golf Digest betting panel, travels to all the big PGA Tour events—getting boots-on-the-ground insights into how the players are prepping for the week.

"I’m in a Different Position": Rory McIlroy Defends Recent PGA Tour Decision originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The BMW Championship begins Thursday at Caves Valley in Owings Mills, Maryland, where the top 50 in the FedExCup standings will play for 30 Tour Championship spots.