Rory McIlroy has revealed he is battling a right elbow injury, which will require treatment ahead of the Masters. The Northern Irish golfer disclosed his ailment following his final round at the Houston Open on Sunday, where he concluded with a bogey. McIlroy, who is aiming to break an 11-year major title drought in 2025, won’t be playing another competitive round before Augusta.
Supporters are hopeful that this could be the year he finally secures his first green jacket. Currently, McIlroy is in top form, having already claimed victories at The Players and Pebble Beach this year. He also triumphed at the DP World Tour Championship in his last tournament of 2024.
The four-time major champion’s impressive performance continued at the Houston Open, where he shot 15 under par for the tournament, securing a tie for fifth place. After a slow start with a first-round score of 70, he delivered rounds of 66, 65, and 64, earning yet another top-10 finish.
Despite his recent successes making him a favourite for the Masters, McIlroy’s elbow injury raises concerns. He will be keen to ensure the issue is fully resolved before the first major of the year commences in just over a week.
Furthermore, the other three majors of the year – the PGA Championship, US Open, and Open – are all scheduled between now and July.
During his discussion with NBC on Sunday, McIlroy explained: “The last three days were really good. I actually made a slight adjustment to my driver yesterday, I went to the range and took the loft off a little bit and definitely drove the ball a lot better today, so that was a positive.
“Saw some putts go in and, yeah, I felt like as I went on during the week, I got better and better as the scores sort of suggest. Look, it was a good week. I still feel like I’ve got some stuff to work on, but overall a solid week and nice to have another week to sort of get ready and fine tune my game going into Augusta.”
Upon being queried about his preparations and any issues he faced, McIlroy disclosed: “I think just 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’s OK going into Augusta. I’ve got my coach Michael Bannon coming in tomorrow – we’ll do some work and make sure everything is in good shape for a week’s time.”
Min Woo Lee claimed his inaugural PGA Tour victory by a narrow margin, finishing on 20 under par, one shot ahead of Gary Woodland and Scottie Scheffler.
