Rory McIlroy gives his honest opinion on the golf course at the Houston Open after the event finishes as he calls for change

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Rory McIlroy seemed to take another step in the right direction at the Texas Children’s Houston Open this week, with the Northern Irishman finishing in a tie for fifth at Memorial Park.

With eyes firmly on The Masters, it was hard to know what to hope for from Rory McIlroy at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

McIlroy has already won twice on the PGA Tour this season, so it would have almost seemed too good to be true had he won in Houston. Certainly, it would have absolutely ramped the pressure up ahead of Augusta National.

Ultimately, McIlroy was able to continue his momentum ahead of the first major of the year while also leaving plenty in the tank for his drive down Magnolia Lane.

Rory McIlroy issues his verdict on the Texas Children’s Houston Open

And it seems that the 35-year-old is open to the idea of returning to the event in the coming years having previously played in the city more than a decade ago.

He also issued his verdict on Memorial Park – the course which has hosted the event since 2020.

“Yeah, I’ll definitely consider it. We’ve got that big stretch in Florida where we’ve got a couple of big ones with Bay Hill and The Players. Then I’ve played Tampa before, I’ve obviously played here in Houston before, I’ve played San Antonio before. Each year I’ll probably play one of those three and just depending how I feel and how much time I feel I need at home and how close I need my competitive reps to be going into the Masters,” he said.

“Yeah, it’s definitely under consideration. I like the golf course. I wish there was a little more of a penalty if you miss off the tee. I feel like you can sort of stand up at every tee box and just hit it everywhere and be okay. If there was a little more penalty off the tee, it’s a very good golf course, but I feel that would make it a little bit better.”

Stats show McIlroy remains the man to beat at The Masters

McIlroy can take a number of positives from his performance. His scores improved each day, culminating in a 64 on Sunday. That was despite McIlroy dealing with an elbow issue that he is expecting to get treatment on.

His statistics back up the idea that there is no real weakness in his game right now. McIlroy’s driving was surprisingly poor at the Players Championship, but that was not an issue in the last few days.

It is perhaps ominous that Scottie Scheffler was closing in on Min Woo Lee on Sunday. But McIlroy surely showed more than enough to suggest that he remains the man to beat when he tees it up at The Masters.