Rory McIlroy is officially on to the Masters.
McIlroy wrapped up his Texas Children’s Houston Open debut with a strong 6-under 64 on Sunday at Memorial Park, his final competitive round before heading to Augusta National in 11 days. Despite missing a 4-footer for par on the 18th hole, he still managed six birdies and an eagle in an impressive performance.
“It was a pretty decent score,” McIlroy said afterward. “A little disappointing with how I finished, but overall, pretty happy with how the week went.”
Name
Events
Top 10
Money
Rory McIlroy
257
125
$90,989,348
After a sluggish start with a 70 on Thursday, McIlroy found his groove with the driver by Sunday. He made a “slight adjustment” Saturday evening, taking a little loft off his driver. The tweak paid immediate dividends – he ranked second in strokes gained off-the-tee in the final round after sitting outside the top 20 for three straight days, including outside the top 40 for the previous two rounds.
“I felt like it was getting a little bit spinny, especially if I wanted to hit cuts off the tee,” McIlroy explained.
McIlroy, who’s already claimed victories at Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass this year, won’t play in next week’s Valero Texas Open. Instead, he’s heading home to Jupiter, Florida, for a week of focused practice. His longtime swing coach Michael Bannon is scheduled to fly in Monday.
“Still feel like I’ve got some stuff to work on,” McIlroy admitted. “Still don’t think like my game is absolutely 100% under the control I would want, but it’s nice to have a week to work on some things. We’ll be working at home and making sure game feels good going into the Masters.”
McIlroy tied for 22nd at last year’s Masters. His recent Augusta history has been inconsistent – he’s missed two of his past four cuts there, though he did finish runner-up in 2022 between those missed weekends.
On the health front, McIlroy revealed to Golf Channel’s Kira K. Dixon that his right elbow has been bothering him “a little bit.”
“Get some treatment on that,” he added, “and make sure that that’s OK going into Augusta.”
