What Rory McIlroy is expected to do at the Houston Open as one thing he needs to improve before the Masters identified

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Rory McIlroy continues his quest for further PGA Tour success this week as he takes on the Houston Open in Texas.

McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are in the field for the 2025 Houston Open, which comes after Viktor Hovland won the Valspar Championship.

The Valero Texas Open then arrives next in the PGA Tour schedule, quickly followed by the Masters at Augusta National.

McIlroy has been tipped to contend at the Masters, which represents the only major championship that he has not won in his career.

World number one Scheffler meanwhile has won the Masters twice, and will be the defending champion at this year’s event.

Rory McIlroy told he needs to drive better ahead of the Masters

But the duo will first be focused on a strong run at the Houston Open, which takes place at Memorial Park Golf Course.

Previewing the event and indeed what it could look like for McIlroy, Rex Hoggard said on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav: “Rory is fascinating to me because this is all part of whatever puzzle he is trying to put together which ends up with him wearing a green jacket on Sunday at the Masters.

“I am always wary of dismissing the Houston Open or next week in San Antonio as a tune-up for the Masters, or any other major, but if we are being honest it’s good for the Houston Open that Rory is there and he is using this as a tune-up for the Masters.

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“That is no disrespect, this is just what is important to him at this point in his career. The victory at TPC Sawgrass had a lot of good things to it.

“None more so than the mental toughness that he showed, not just coming down the stretch on Sunday but also showing on Monday morning and doing what he did in that playoff to win pretty easily.

“The one thing that was missing is probably the one thing he will need in Augusta if he is to break through that green ceiling, which is that he needs to drive the ball better.

“That is weird because we normally would not be saying that about Rory McIlroy if he is in full flight, which he is right now.

“The victory in TPC Sawgrass was completely different to when he won there in 2019. In 2019 he did it with his driver, he overpowered the tee and the golf course, led the field in strokes gained off the tee and driving distance, not a surprise.

“That was not the case at the Players Championship two weeks ago, he actually struggled the first two days with his driver.

“So I think anything he can do this week, and it’s probably a better fit, the fairways are a bit more wide open, there is not a lot of rough, they tried to make it as close to an Augusta National type test as possible.

“So my guess is that he spends the next few days trying to dial in the driver. Of course, he wants to win the Houston Open.

“These guys are competitors first and foremost, they want to win everything they do – whether that’s TGL or the Houston Open but that is what is going to be important and that’s what you need to keep an eye on.”

What are Rory McIlroy’s 2025 PGA Tour results as the Masters approaches?

McIlroy has, of course, been one of the top drivers on the PGA Tour for some time, with his power often second to none.

But big drives only help on certain courses, with power needing to be combined with precision when the time calls for it.

READ MORE: It’s already clear what Rory McIlroy must improve if he wants to win his first Masters title next month

Augusta National will certainly be a huge test in that regard, with McIlroy likely to be trying to improve that area of his game between now and early next month.

He should definitely already have confidence on his side, with two PGA Tour wins from just four starts so far this season.

Those have arrived at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players Championship, with the latter won via a playoff against J.J. Spaun.

The Northern Irishman has already matched his winning tally for the whole of 2024, and now finds himself on 28 career PGA Tour titles.