Rory McIlroy Climbs Leaderboard At Valero Texas Open

It looks like the world’s number two player, Rory McIlroy might have made a good decision to play at The Valero Texas Open this week. The 23-year-old Northern Irishman matched the low score of the day at The J.W. Marriott Oaks Course in San Antonio when he fired a -5 under 67 to join a group tied for fifth place at -5 under par.   

McIlroy made a couple of bogey’s on the front nine, but made the turn at -1 under par, and went bogey-free down the stretch putting up four birdies on the back, including a hat trick at the finishing three holes. He is only three strokes behind leader, Billy Horschel, and looks to have his game in control before he heads to Augusta next week.

"“It was a good way to finish,” McIlroy said. “It will definitely make dinner taste a little nicer tonight and give me a couple of more hours in bed tomorrow morning.”"

McIlroy has struggled with his golf swing since announcing an equipment change to Nike prior to the season opener in Abu Dhabi. He missed the cut, and walked off the golf course at The Honda Classic. His finest round came a week later at The WGC-Cadillac in Miami. He fired a -10 under in the fourth round. He decided to blow off an invitation from Arnold Palmer to play at Bay Hill, and his struggles continued at Houston during the Shell Open. He came to life again in the final round where he birdied the final two holes.

You have to believe McIlroy wants to get to Augusta with his best game so he can make amends for the terrible performance he had during the final round of the 2011 Masters where he had a meltdown on the back nine, and gave the tournament to Charl Schwartzel. He resurrected his game the following year and won his first US Open, and followed it with a win at Kiawaa Island last August at the PGA Championship.

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