The Texas Children’s Houston Open proved many things to golf fans worldwide. From Min Woo Lee’s first PGA Tour victory, which showed the world that if you keep working, your time will come, to Scottie Scheffler’s and Rory McIlroy’s impressive comebacks, it showed that you never write the game’s greats off.

McIlroy will be heavily pleased with what he has done at Houston, at least during the weekend. Loitering near the cut line on Friday, McIlroy turned up a gear to vault himself above and straight into contention on the other end. He finished T5 with a score of 15 under par and five strokes off the winner, Min Woo Lee. This will be the ideal momentum the four-time Major winner would want before the upcoming Masters.

In an interview with Sky Sports post the PGA Tour event in Houston, McIlroy stated that he was looking forward to the upcoming Masters. He also added candidly about something that is affecting his preparation for the event at the Augusta National at the tail end of April.

“Working on a few things. My right elbow has been bothering me a little bit so maybe just get some treatment on that and make sure that that’s okay going into Augusta,” explained McIlroy.

The Northern Irish golfer will be playing in his sixteenth-straight Masters Tournament this year and considering that he is taking nearly three weeks away from the PGA Tour ahead of the Major, he should be in prime condition to take on the challenge. However, the right elbow issue might be a bit of a concern.

The golfing fans were not sold, though. They were quick to call him out for making excuses ahead of the one tournament that has eluded him.

Fans call out Rory McIlroy for making excuses ahead of the Masters

Many golf fans were not surprised by what McIlroy had said. It was like they had expected him to make up an excuse. One fan clearly intended that when he replied, “Like clockwork.”

McIlroy is not pleasing any fans with his right elbow issue. Several were irritated at him for bringing up the concern nonchalantly, stating that it was a ploy from the Northern Irish golfer’s side. “Getting the excuses out early, smart,” stated one fan. Another fan professed that McIlroy might wilt under the pressure and miss the cut, something he has done only three times at the Masters. “This is just his excuse for when he misses the cut,” the fan stated exuberantly.

“Having a pre cooked excuse is major loser behavior. Hope that’s not his thinking,” stated another fan who was not in the mood to believe McIlroy’s injury concern.

The Masters has been one tournament that has proved evasive for the 28-time PGA Tour winner. Remember the 2011 Masters Tournament? He had a near unassailable lead (12 under par) at the end of the 3 round. But the last day was catastrophic, as he carded an 8-over 80 to finish a woeful T15. The choke is still talked about in golf circles as one of the biggest letdowns in McIlroy’s career. One fan was sure that McIlroy would be ok before Augusta. However, he expressed doubts on whether the Northern Irish golfer could withstand the expectations placed on him. He stated, “He’ll be fine by the Masters, it’s minor. The question is, will he choke?”

Another fan felt that McIlroy is putting a lot of unwanted focus on things not related to golf right now. He would be much better off trying to improve his golf game rather than worrying about needless intricacies. The Northern Irish golfer himself admitted that his game needs to improve a bit, especially in the driving department ahead of the Masters. McIlroy stated, “I wanted to see myself drive it a little bit better, which I haven’t really seen. It’s hard here because, you know, it’s so wide that it entices you to just stand up and try to hit it as hard as you can, so accuracy isn’t a premium at all this week.”

So it turns out the fan is right in calling him out for losing focus and looking away from the bigger goal. “right elbow? masters prep? its a golf competition. stop the Masters Debating prep. Focus on golf instead,” stated the netizen.

Excuses or not, McIlroy does have the weight of expectations on him. For all his dominance, the World No.2 hasn’t won a Major since his 2014 victory at the Open Championship. Will he break his 11-year-old drought and achieve a career grand slam at the same time at Augusta this year? Let us know what you think in the comments below.