Rory McIlroy reveals fresh injury concern just days before The Masters

Rory McIlroy revealed he will seek treatment for an elbow injury that was ‘bothering’ him in his last start ahead of The Masters.

McIlroy enjoyed an encouraging final-round showing at the Houston Open which will be his final tournament before he heads to Augusta National in search of his first major win since 2014.

The Northern Irishman carded a six-under-par final-round 64 to secure a T5 finish, but the 35-year-old insisted there were still elements of his game that could be improved upon before The Masters which begins on April 10.

‘The last three days were really good,’ McIlroy told the Golf Channel after his final round.

‘I actually made a slight adjustment to my driver yesterday, I went to the range yesterday and took the loft off a little bit and definitely drove the ball better today so that was a positive.

‘Saw some putts go in and as the week went on I felt like I got better and better as the scores suggest. I still feel like I’ve got some stuff so work on but overall a solid week and nice to have another week to get ready and fine-tune my game ahead of Augusta.’

In a bid to iron out his creases, McIlroy will work with long-time coach Michael Bannon in the coming days, but the 35-year-old will also spend some time on the treatment table to try and address a slight injury concern with his right elbow.

‘My right elbow has been bothering me a bit so maybe just get some treatment on that to make sure thats okay heading into Augusta,’ McIlroy replied when asked about his prep for the Masters.

‘I’ve got my coach Michael Bannon coming in tomorrow – we’ll do some work and make sure that’s everything is in shape for a week’s time.’

McIlroy’s top-five finish in Houston continues his impressive start to the year stateside which has already seen him win twice at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Players Championship.

Asked what has encouraged him about his game over the last few months, he told reporters: ‘I think just how I manage my game, how I manage my misses. I think my short game’s been very good and I’ve been able to scramble well when I’ve needed to.

‘And my ability to sort of hit little knockdown shots. I feel like it’s been quite a windy year, I feel like there’s been quite a lot of wind when we’ve played, so my ability to hit those little three-quarter shots is definitely better than it has been and that’s been a big factor to why I’ve performed pretty consistently.’

At the very top of the leaderboard, it was fan favourite Min Woo Lee who claimed his first PGA Tour win with a gutsy par save on the 72nd hole.

The Australian saw off World No.1 Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland by one shot to win with a score of 20 under par.

‘It was a very mental grinding day but I’m super proud to win. It was
just a very tough week,’ Lee reflected after his win.

‘I had a lot of eyes on me obviously. I had a four-shot lead in the last round and I was obviously very tired, which helped me go to sleep but I woke up and I couldn’t go back to sleep. It was one of those where I think just everything aligned this week. I’m so proud to be the winner of the trophy.’

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