In 2023 at the Phoenix Open, he admitted, “I struggle off the tee here.” And just like that, he skipped the tournament in both 2024 and 2025. That’s how much course familiarity matters—even for a four-time major champion. Now, McIlroy has stepped into unfamiliar territory at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, and he has his doubts. This is his debut at the event and the Memorial Park Golf Course, and while fans are pumped to see if he can snag his third win of the year after his AT&T and Players Championship victories, McIlroy himself is approaching it with caution.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” McIlroy said at the post-round presser. “It’s nice to come to places that you don’t know and having to learn a new golf course is sort of — I don’t do it all that often anymore, so it’s nice to be able to do it again.” Of course, the rainy conditions at Memorial Park didn’t exactly make things easy. Still, McIlroy held his ground in the first round, finishing with an even-par 70. That put him tied for 57th. He went one-under on the front nine, picking up two birdies on the par fives but slipping with a bogey on the par-four fourth. The back nine was steady—eight pars and one bogey on the par-four 14th.
Sure, the course might be new for McIlroy, but his ability to adapt? That’s something he knows well. Still, he won’t deny that playing somewhere familiar has its perks. “There are in-built advantages to going back to a course for a lot of years and just knowing where to miss it, where not to, he said. “Especially on a course like this, where the green complexes are quite — you sort of have to know them and know where the misses are. I think a little bit of experience around this course isn’t a bad thing, and I’m sort of just trying to learn as I go along.”
Rory McIlroy’s ‘one step at a time’ approach could land him his third win of the year
Why stop at just one or two trophies when you have the potential to grab more? That seems to be Rory McIlroy’s mindset this season. While The Masters is obviously a huge goal, he’s making sure that wherever he plays, he brings his A-game. “I just want to get a card in my hand and shoot scores, hopefully get myself in contention, and try to win another golf tournament.” He said. Instead of thinking too far ahead, he’s prioritizing the present. “I’m here, I’m in the present, and I’m trying to do my best this week to win this golf tournament,” he added.
And honestly, that approach makes sense. With two wins already this year, McIlroy knows that momentum is everything. Each tournament adds to his confidence, and playing well here in Houston could set him up for an even greater momentum. But he’s also his own biggest critic. “It was great to get a win a couple of weeks ago, but I still feel I could have played a lot better,” he admitted.
Of course, The Masters is still looming in the background. It’s the one major title he hasn’t won, and completing the career Grand Slam would be a massive achievement. Earlier this week, he even made a quick trip to Augusta National for a sneak peek at the course. “There are four greens that are new this year,” he noted, pointing out why these early visits matter. Getting familiar with any changes now means that when tournament week rolls around, he can just focus on playing his best golf, without the extra stress of adjusting to new conditions.
