Rory McIlroy didn’t win – that honour fell to Aussie Min Woo Lee, with Northern Ireland caddie Brian “Bo” Martin playing an influential role in the Texas Children’s Houston Open – but the world number two’s last outing ahead of the Masters provided further momentum as he bids to complete the career Grand Slam.
In closing with a 64 for a 15-under-par total of 265, McIlroy finished five shots behind Lee who claimed a breakthrough win on the PGA Tour.
More importantly though for McIlroy, having only made the cut by firing three birdies in his final four holes of the second round, brought further proof of his wellbeing that has seen him finish 1st-17th-15th-1st-5th in his five appearances on the US circuit this season as he targets completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters in just over a week’s time.
McIlroy had, it seemed, “tweaked” his driver in the run-up to the Houston Open by taking some loft off but admitted there were some aspects that needed further work ahead of the season’s first Major at Augusta National.
“I still feel like I’ve got some stuff to work on,” he said. “Still don’t think like my game is absolutely 100 per cent under the control I would want, but it’s nice to have a week to work on some things. I’ve got my coach, Michael Bannon, coming in tomorrow, so we’ll be working at home and making sure game feels good going into the Masters.”
McIlroy has a week off ahead of returning to the Masters, opting not to play in this week’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.
Lee carried a comfortable lead into the final round but ultimately only managed to get over the line with one stroke to spare, a final round 67 for 20-under-par 260 giving the Australian a one stroke winning margin over world number one Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland.
Scheffler, who is defending his Masters title, confirmed his recovery to form following surgery in the off-season for a hand injury: “I feel like I can still clean up a few things in my swing. You know, my ball-striking wasn’t as sharp as I would have liked for it to have been this week, but overall I mean, yesterday and today I felt like we’re improving in the ball-striking.”
For Lee, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, his breakthrough win on the PGA Tour earned him a payday of €1.7 million and a move inside the top-20 on the official world rankings.
