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The only way is up for Rory McIlroy as the Masters approaches

The Northern Irishman has been in relatively poor form on the PGA Tour but aims to recapture his best

Rory McIlroy reacts to an approach shot on the first hole during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. Photograph: Brennan Asplen/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy reacts to an approach shot on the first hole during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. Photograph: Brennan Asplen/Getty Images
Philip Reid
Mon Apr 01 2024 - 19:00

Rory McIlroy’s busiest early-year schedule takes him to the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio for this week’s PGA Tour stop, part of an increased playing itinerary designed for the Northern Irishman to play his way into his annual attempt to complete the career Grand Slam at the Masters.

That time is nearly upon him. McIlroy, the world number two, started his season’s work in Dubai – with a runner-up finish and a win in back-to-back weeks – on the DP world Tour before moving back to the PGA Tour and a schedule which added more tournaments than previous years.

The Texas Open will be his eighth tournament of the year as part of that revised plan for more game time ahead of the Masters. So far, McIlroy has not found what he has been looking for.

Indeed, following that fast start in the UAE, McIlroy’s momentum has stalled – he has finished 66thm 24th, 21st, 21st and19th in his five appearances on the PGA Tour, that sole top-20 coming in The Players – but he has had a break of two weeks since Sawgrass, with much of that time spent working on his game in Florida.

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McIlroy is one of three Irish players in the field in Texas this week – along with Séamus Power, who needs a win to earn a late invitation to the Masters, and Pádraig Harrington, who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption – and this tournament is the last chance with scorecard in hand before the Masters to provide evidence that his swing has got rid of the left misses that first appeared with his irons (at Bay Hill) and then affected his driving (at Sawgrass).

[ Analysis: Rory McIlroy wrestling with his game as Masters approaches ]

His poor form, by his standards, on the PGA Tour is reflected in a current position of 66th on the FedEx Cup standings. McIlroy recently said: “I feel like that’s my floor and I haven’t quite got to the golf that I’ve wanted to get to my ceiling.”

In other words, the only way is up for McIlroy, who will hope that the work on the range over the past fortnight will reap rewards in San Antonio and, especially, at Augusta National.

Shane Lowry, meanwhile, adopted a different schedule in advance of his return to the Masters. He actually paid a visit to the course on Monday to get reacquainted after an itinerary that saw him contend more often than not in the Florida Swing (where he was fourth in the Cognizant Classic and third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational) before a transglobal journey to Singapore on the DP world Tour for his last competitive outing before the Masters.

For Leona Maguire, this week’s T-Mobile Match Play Championship at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas – where she finished third last year, in a tournament won by Pajaree Anannarukarn – will be her last competitive outing before the Chevron Championship, the first women’s Major of the year, in a fortnight’s time. Stephanie Meadow is also competing, aiming to bounce back from a missed cut in the Ford Championship.

There is a Wednesday start for the Match Play, which has an altered format this season. Instead of the 64 players (as last year) involved in group matches to determine who advances to the knock-out stages, this year’s tournament will see 96 players compete in 36 holes of stroke play on Wednesday and Thursday and another round on Friday (following a cut for the low 65 and ties), with only the top eight players qualifying for the weekend’s match play phase.

Philip Reid

Philip Reid

Philip Reid is Golf Correspondent of The Irish Times