Seventy players qualified for the first round of the playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, but only 69 will tee it up at TPC Southwind this week.

In an effort to reduce his overall workload on the season, Masters champion Rory McIlroy decided not to play in this week's St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. As such, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs will run with 69 of the top 70 players in the world -- McIlroy the lone missing piece from the start of the three-week postseason.

There’s been no shortage of talk ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, especially with Rory McIlroy opting to skip this week’s event in Memphis. The PGA Tour will be hoping the FedEx Cup playoffs deliver a strong finish to this part of the season,