Dan Rapaport thinks Rory McIlroy has made a ‘brilliant’ move ahead of The Masters after his comments at the Houston Open

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Those who are hoping to see Rory McIlroy finally win The Masters will have taken great encouragement from his performance at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Rory McIlroy was one of the two heavyweights in the field at Memorial Park, along with Scottie Scheffler. But the Northern Irishman was also the one player on the PGA Tour with two victories under his belt in the opening weeks of the season.

McIlroy ultimately leaves the Texas Children’s Houston Open with even more momentum. The 35-year-old finished in a tie for fifth and saw his scores improve every single day – with a 64 on Sunday briefly threatening to bring him into contention.

However, it seems that it was not all positive for McIlroy in Houston.

Rory McIlroy sparks concern ahead of The Masters with his comments after the Houston Open

Following his final round, McIlroy spoke of feeling an issue in his elbow, with the four-time major champion confirming that he was going to get some treatment on it.

It is an alarming claim, particularly as it did not appear that McIlroy had been dealing with any issues throughout the year to date. But it seems that not everyone is as convinced that it is anything to worry about ahead of Augusta National.

Taking to X, Dan Rapaport suggested that it may have a smart tactic from McIlroy to speak about an injury when he knows what the narrative is going to be heading into his next event.

How Rory McIlroy has performed at The Masters over the years

McIlroy has a record at Augusta National which certainly suggests that he has the game to win the first major of the year and finally complete the career grand slam.

He has registered seven top 10s over the years, while he did actually finish second in 2022 – albeit, without ever really getting too close to winning.

Ultimately, anyone who has played well at Augusta previously is in with a chance of contending every time The Masters comes around each year. And it is fair to say that no-one in the world has more momentum than McIlroy right now.

Many will be reserving judgement however, until they have seen McIlroy negotiate a couple of hurdles at Augusta. If he is going to win, there are going to be moments which are crucial and perhaps evoke memories of Sunday at last year’s US Open.

How McIlroy responds to them is going to be so intriguing to see. This year has seen a different Rory McIlroy; finding a way to win when short of his very best.

Unless his elbow really is a concern, there is hardly a better way for McIlroy to prepare for Augusta than what he has done so far this year.