Rory McIlroy is in the field at this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open in preparation for next month’s Masters, and Billy Horschel believes the setup is perfect for the Northern Irishman.
McIlroy goes into the season’s opening flagship event in hot form, boasting two victories already in 2025, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, as well as the recent Players Championship, defeating J.J. Spaun at TPC Sawgrass via a Monday playoff.
Rory McIlroy will play in Houston this week (Image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
With a three-week break between The Players and the trip to Augusta, McIlroy has decided to fill his schedule with the Texas event – a tournament that doesn’t typically feature on his schedule. Fellow pro Horschel, believes McIlroy’s decision to compete is a good one.
He told the Sky Sports Golf podcast: “It’s a perfectly designed golf course for Rory. When Rory was talking to me about it when we were talking schedules at the end of last year, early this year, and he mentioned playing Houston, I said to him, ‘man, that course is right up your alley’.
“There’s a distance bias there. There’s a lot of holes that he can hit his nice going draw along. I would suspect Rory has a very good chance to win. I know that Scottie Scheffler’s in the field, but with the way that Rory has been playing this year, the way his game is at, it wouldn’t shock me if he went on to win this week.
“I think it’s going to be a great test. The greens are big; they’ve got some slope in them. Chipping around the greens and having to hit chips up to greens sort of gets you ready for Augusta a little bit. The field is a really good one, but if Rory wins, then I’m not shocked by it at all.”
Rory McIlroy will be preparing for the Masters ( Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
McIlroy will be making his debut at Memorial Park as part of his latest strategy to ensure he’s fully prepared for Augusta. Last year, the four-time major champion chose to play at the Valero Texas Open the week before the Masters, but this year he has decided to take a week off between starts.
In addition, McIlroy has revealed plans for a couple of visits to Augusta ahead of the first major of the season, particularly after some alterations were made to the course following Hurricane Helene in October. “I think it’s just going to be a little bit different this year,” he commented at Bay Hill earlier this month.
“Just with there’s some areas of the course that are maybe a little thinner tree-wise, just with the hurricane that rolled through. “Sixteen is a new green. So, yeah, I’ll probably go up there once or twice beforehand.”
