Why Does Rory McIlroy Badly Need a Victory at Texas Before the Masters?

The 2024 Masters definitely feels different. Rory McIlroy has changed his schedule, tweaked his pre-tournament regimen, and is also seeking a second opinion this year. Back in January, the Ulsterman gave a hint that this year’s runup to the Masters is going to be significantly different. McIlroy revealed that he will be in the field for a couple more events than last year. 

The Valero Texas Open would be his eighth. Last year, McIlroy played five and took three weeks off before the first major. A year earlier, he played six. The strategy is different this year, no doubt. After consistently finishing out of contention on the PGA Tour, McIlroy wants to kickstart a series of spectacular rounds at San Antonio. 

McIlroy said before the tournament, “I think my game’s been — it’s shown signs of life in all different departments over the course of the year. Some weeks the driving’s good, some weeks the irons are good. Just sort of trying to put it all together.” That, in fact, is a necessity at this point for the four-time Major winner.

Rory McIlroy needs to step up his game

If Rory McIlroy can’t come within the top-10 at the Valero Texas Open, it’ll be the first time in his career that he will go to Augusta without a top-10 in any PGA Tour events. Both Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm had already won three times before heading to the Augusta National. 

This will also be his tenth attempt at completing his career grand slam and his fourteenth at cracking the Masters code. McIlroy has come agonizingly close twice. Once in 2011, before picking any of the other three majors. Starting with a four-shot lead on Sunday, McIlroy fell to T15 after a final-round blunder. 

Eleven years later, the 24-time PGA Tour winner came close to sniffing victory. That time, Scottie Scheffler, who is on a blistering run of form this year as well, walked away with the title. McIlroy has amassed five top tens at Augusta. 

And as each year passes by without a green jacket, the pressure keeps piling up on the 34-year-old. That also plays a factor, as the average age of title contenders keeps declining. Viktor Hovland is 26; Scottie Scheffler is 27; Will Zalatoris 27; Wyndham Clark 30; Joaquin Niemann 25; Jon Rahm 29. McIlroy knows he doesn’t have nearly as many shots at Augusta as he did ten years ago when he won his last major, which is why he is desperate to try something new and finally complete his career grand slam.

A change of plan for the Masters and the Masters alone?

Notably, McIlroy plans to arrive a little late in Georgia and take the practice rounds lightly. Golfweek reported that McIlroy would land on Tuesday—he has a press conference that afternoon—and then skip the Par 3 Championship as well. More importantly, he also went to seek Butch Harmon’s advice. 

Harmon told Rex Hoggard that McIlroy wanted a “second set of eyes” on his swings. They talked for around three hours. Interestingly enough, the legendary coach also said that McIlroy’s long-time swing coach, Michael Banon, has a similar approach.

In all likelihood, the Northern Irish pro didn’t receive a call for drastic change. Rather, validation and perhaps some slight modifications with a heavy dose of motivation followed. That’s also why McIlroy looks forward to making “some committed swings” with bursting confidence at San Antonio.

Why the Valero Texas Open can be a good test for Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy has had some inhibitions about his game. His comments after THE PLAYERS Championship hinted that McIroy was not very confident about his swing. Specifically with irons. The 24-time PGA Tour winner ranks 119th in SG: Approach to Green. Last year, he was eighth. 

So, McIlroy is vexed; he is also perplexed at what’s going wrong. He has been putting more time on the greens than ever before. What the Ulsterman lacks is a top-notch finish. A victory would be great. But a top-10 won’t be bad either. McIlroy needs to feel the rush of being in contention. That would be a massive shot in the arm before landing in Augusta.

The TPC San Antonio will also be a test of finesse. Last year, the first hole was the toughest, with a scoring average of 4.360. It was also one of the top 15 toughest holes on the Tour. Additionally, the par 72, 7438-yard layout was the 16th toughest course of the season, ten spots behind Augusta National. The scoring average was 72.960, compared to Augusta’s 72.960. 

The strategically placed bunkers can cause trouble if you are off with your line. The greens aren’t as fast as Augusta, but they are moderate enough to prepare yourself for the Georgia pitch. That was in McIlroy’s mind as well. “It’s a good golf course. It’s tough; you’ve got to; it’s visually intimidating. If you start missing it off the tee, you can get yourself in some pretty big trouble out here.” All Rory McIlroy needs is to step on the grass with full confidence.

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