Rory McIlroy may miss Northern Trust to work on game for Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy completed a frustrating PGA Championship campaign and hinted that he could take a break from golf to work on his game ahead of the Ryder Cup.

McIlroy mixed four birdies with as many bogeys in a final-round 70 at Bellerive, finishing outside the top 50 on two under par and extending his major drought to four years.

The 29-year-old admitted he was at odds with his swing throughout the week, and he is now considering missing the first event of the FedExCup Play-Offs - The Northern Trust - to work on his game as he turned his attentions to the Ryder Cup in less than seven week's time.

"That's the major season over and we have to wait a few months to the next one but there's still a lot of golf to
play this year and quite a bit to play for," said McIlroy, who posted top-10 finishes at The Masters and The Open while missing the cut at the US Open for the third straight year.

"I've had a year where I've shown glimpses of what I can do, but I just haven't done it often enough, so there's a lot of room for improvement. My swing really hasn't been where I want it to be. It was pretty good at the start of the year but it's sort of regressed as the season went on, you start to fall back into some of the habits you don't want to.

"I've missed the ball right and left and that's been the real weakness. You stand up on a tee shot and it would be nice to know you can eliminate one side of the golf course and this year I haven't felt like that.

"I feel like I've put the work in, and I've given myself chances and just haven't quite played the golf I've needed to whenever it's been called upon.

"I need to assess where I'm at, and I think the best thing for me to do right now is take a couple of days off and reflect on what I need to do going forward. The best thing might be to take that first FedEx Cup week off and work on my game and hopefully come back in a better place.

"I'll do some practice this week and see if I feel ready to go there and play five out of six weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup."