McIlroy "Masters Mock Test"... Spieth Aims for 'Title Defense'

On the Night of the 31st, Opening Ballet at Texas Open: Spieth Tunes Shot Sense for Back-to-Back Wins, Hoffman Seeks Revenge Match

Rory McIlroy takes a 'mock test' at the Valero Texas Open ahead of the Masters.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] It is the ‘Masters warm-up’ for Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), ranked 9th in the world.

The Valero Texas Open (total prize money $8.6 million), a PGA Tour event opening on the night of the 31st (Korean time) at TPC San Antonio, Texas (par 72, 7,438 yards), is a fierce battleground. ‘Texas boy’ Jordan Spieth (USA) is defending his title, and Corey Conners (Canada), who finished 3rd in the Dell Match Play that ended on the 28th, is aiming for his first win of the season riding the momentum. Korea has sent Kim Si-woo (27), Lee Kyung-hoon (31), Kang Sung-hoon (35), and Noh Seung-yul (32) to compete.

It is interesting that McIlroy will challenge to become the 6th ‘Career Grand Slammer’ in history at the Masters next week. He consecutively won the 2011 US Open, 2012 PGA Championship, and 2014 The Open, and the Masters remains the last puzzle to sweep all four different majors. Only five players in global golf history have achieved this feat: Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan (both USA), Gary Player (South Africa), Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods (both USA).

Rory McIlroy is focusing on improving his 'Achilles tendon' putting in preparation for the Masters.

Attention should be paid to McIlroy’s ‘Achilles’ heel,’ which is putting. Last year, he ranked 2nd in driving distance (319.3 yards) and led the average number of birdies per round (4.51), but his Strokes Gained Putting (SGP) index was 0.19 strokes (66th), showing weakness on the greens. He underwent vision correction surgery in 2015 to acquire ‘hawk eyes’ and received putting coaching from Phil Kenyon (England) in 2016 and Brad Faxon (USA) in 2018.

This year, his SGP improved slightly to 0.36. McIlroy has been in good form recently, including reaching his 20th career win at the CJ Cup in October last year, which counts toward the 2022 season, and entering the top 10 twice in four tournaments. This is why he was ranked number one in the PGA Tour power rankings. He needs to maximize his putting feel in this tournament. He is reviewing the course strategy from when he shot 6-under on the final day as runner-up in 2013.

Spieth’s record is formidable. He ended a 3-year and 9-month title drought since The Open in July 2017 by winning by 2 strokes last year. Charlie Hoffman (USA) has a chance for revenge after finishing 2nd last year. He is particularly strong in San Antonio, including his 2016 victory. Along with Conners, players who performed well in the Dell Match Play such as Abraham Ancer (Mexico) have emerged as dark horses. ‘The Hulk’ Bryson DeChambeau (USA) is currently focused on recovering from a wrist injury.

Jordan Spieth took to ballet to defend his title at the Texas Open.

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