Rory McIlroy battling injury with Masters 10 days away
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Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy hitting a tee shot on the ninth hole during the final round of the Texas Children's Houston Open.
PHOTO: IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS
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LONDON – Four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy has revealed that he is dealing with an elbow injury, as he prepares to head to Augusta National for next week’s Masters.
The world No. 2 made a spirited run up the leaderboard at the Houston Open on March 31, carding a four-under 31 on the front nine that included an eagle. He had three more birdies before closing with a bogey to settle for a tie for fifth.
That performance was a big boost to the Northern Irishman as he aims to win his first Major since the 2014 PGA Championship.
But, despite shooting an impressive 65-64 over the weekend, he told NBC Sports that his right elbow has been bothering him.
“I will get some treatment on that and make sure that that’s OK going into Augusta,” he said.
McIlroy is not playing in this week’s Texas Open, giving him time to rest the elbow and work on a tweak he made to his driver following the third round in Houston.
“I just took a little bit of loft off it,” he said.
“I felt like it was getting a little bit spinny, especially if I wanted to hit cuts off the tee, so I took a little bit of loft off it.
“Definitely went through the wind better and felt a little more comfortable.”
Despite the elbow discomfort, McIlroy posted yet another strong result after scrambling a bit just to make the cut in Houston. The T5 adds to his pair of wins, along with a T4 in Dubai in 2025.
However, he said his game is not where he wants it to be as he chases an elusive Green Jacket next week.
“Still feel like I’ve got some stuff to work on,” he said.
“Still don’t think like my game is absolutely 100 per cent under the control I would want, but it’s nice to have a week to work on some things.
“I’ve got my coach, Michael Bannon, coming in (on Monday), so we’ll be working at home and making sure my game feels good going into the Masters.”
The Masters is the lone Major missing from McIlroy’s trophy case, while his overall Major drought now stretches 11 years.
He finished T22 in 2024 after missing the cut at Augusta in 2023. He was runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in 2022.
“This week, going forward, it’s just about feeling as comfortable as I can be with the things I’ve been working on, which is sort of iron play, wedges,” McIlroy added.
“Obviously, short game’s really, really important around Augusta as well. You know, work on those things over the next few days and hopefully I’m feeling good going in there.”
Scheffler, meanwhile, finished tied-second with fellow American Gary Woodland at the Houston Open, behind winner Min Woo Lee of Australia.
The world No. 1 is still a strong favourite to retain his Masters title. REUTERS
