Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy never considered entering the Texas Open the week before the Masters until caddie J.P. Fitzgerald suggested it.
McIlroy thought about it over lunch after his second round at the Houston Open last Friday and sent Fitzgerald a text message saying he thought it was a good idea.
"I ended up thinking to myself, OK, let's just do for these next couple of weeks what's best for me," said McIlroy, now No. 2 in the world after Tiger Woods won at Bay Hill. "What's best for me right now is competitive golf and playing rounds."
Last year, McIlroy missed two straight cuts and made a late commitment to play in the St. Jude Classic the week before the U.S. Open. He tied for seventh in Memphis, then missed the cut at The Olympic Club.
He's only completed 12 competitive rounds this year and agreed with Fitzgerald that he would benefit from another tournament heading to Augusta.
"I'm there to play competitive golf," he said of his decision to play in San Antonio. "If it was a par 3 course, I would go and play it just because that's what I need. I need competitive golf and I need committing to targets, and it doesn't matter if it's a short course or long course or wide course or whatever. As long as I have that and I have a scorecard in my hand, that's what I need."
The Houston Open was McIlroy's first event since Doral, so he wasn't worried about wearing himself out before Masters week.
"The more golf you play, I guess, the more savvy you become," McIlroy said. "The two Majors I've won, some of the ones I've played well, sometimes I played the week before, sometimes I've taken a couple weeks off. I don't think there's any set way to do it. It just depends on how you feel on those given weeks."
His commitment to San Antonio forced him to cancel a two-day humanitarian trip to Haiti, where he was going to meet with children and families affected by the 2010 earthquake there. McIlroy is an Ireland ambassador to UNICEF and travelled to Haiti in 2011, before winning the U.S. Open at Congressional, his first major championship.
McIlroy made "a few tough phone calls" to organizers to inform them of his change in plans.
"UNICEF was great about it," he said. "I'm a big supporter of what they do all over the world. Hopefully, I can make it up to them in some way."
THIS WEEK IN GOLF
LPGA TOUR - KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Mission Hills Country Club (6,738 yds, par 72)
PURSE: $2 million. Winner's share: $300,000.
TELEVISION: Golf Channel (Thursday, noon-3 p.m., 6-9 p.m.; Friday, 1:30-4:30 a.m., noon-3 p.m., 6-9 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30-4:30 a.m., 5-9 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 a.m., 5-9 p.m.; Monday, 1-5 a.m.).
NOTES: This is the first LPGA major of the year. ...I.K. Kim returns to the site of one of the most dramatic losses of her career when she missed a one-foot putt on the final hole of regulation which would have given her the title. She went on to lose on the first playoff hole to Sun Young Yoo. ...Kim lost last week's tournament in a two-hole playoff to Beatriz Recari. ...World number one Stacy Lewis won the 2011 tournament for her first LPGA Tour title. She won consecutive events in Singapore and Phoenix this year to take the top spot in the world. ...Yani Tseng, the 2010 champion, has gone winless the past year. She withdrew from the Kia Classic two weeks ago after oversleeping and missing her pro-am tee time. ...New Zealand amateur Lydia Ko is making her first start in the event. She won the CN Canadian Women's Open last August to become the youngest LPGA Tour winner at 15 years, 4 months, 2 days. The South Korea-born Ko has already won this year, taking the New Zealand Women's Open. She also finished second behind Jiyai Shin in February in the LPGA Tour's Australian Women's Open. ...The event, first played in 1972 as the Colgate Dinah Shore, became a major in 1983.
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PGA TOUR - TEXAS OPEN
COURSE: JW Marriott, TPC San Antonio, Oaks Course (7,522 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $6.2 million. Winner's share: $1,116,000.
TELEVISION: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m., 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 1-3 p.m., 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
CANADIAN CONTENT: Brad Fritsch
NOTES: This is the last chance for players not already qualified to get into the Masters with a win this weekend. ...Second-ranked Rory McIlroy added the tournament to his schedule at the last minute to get some more tournament play under his belt prior to heading to Augusta. He tied for 45th last week in the Houston Open. ...McIlroy's entry means four of the top 15 players in the world are in the field (No. 9 Matt Kuchar, No. 12 Ian Poulter and No. 15 Charl Schwartzel). ...Ben Curtis is looking to become only the third man to successfully defend the Texas Open crown since the turn of the century. ...Texas teen Jordan Spieth, who took special temporary membership after the Tampa Bay Championship, makes his sixth PGA Tour start of the year. ...With his tie for third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano is eligible for special temporary status that would allow him unlimited sponsor exemptions for the rest of 2013. ...This event switched places with the Houston Open this year because of an agreement with the Tour that the tournament not end on Easter Sunday.
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WEB.COM TOUR - BRAZIL CLASSIC
COURSE: Sao Paulo Golf Club (6,574 yards, par 71).
PURSE: $675,000. Winner's share: $121,500.
TELEVISION: None.
CANADIAN CONTENT: Adam Hadwin, Matt Hill, Jon Mills, Ryan Yip
NOTES: This is the inaugural event and the fifth of the new Web.com Tour season. ...Adam Hadwin is looking to make the cut for the first time in four events this season. ...Matt Hill is making his second Tour start since finishing tied for 52nd at Chile Classic. ...Jon Mills makes his first Tour start of the year. He only competed in seven events last year due to his limited status and he failed to earn even conditional status after failing to advance past the second stage of PGA Q-School last fall. ...Ryan Yip is making his second start after missing the cut at the Chile Classic.
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ASIAN TOUR - PANASONIC OPEN INDIA
COURSE: Delhi Golf Club, New Delhi (6,963 yds, par 72)
PURSE: $300,000
CANADIAN CONTENT: Richard T. Lee, Ron Harvey Jr (alternate)
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NGA TOUR - NESMITH CHEVROLET CLASSIC
COURSE: Sapelo Hammock Golf Club, Shellman Bluff, Ga. (6,698 yds, par 72)
PURSE: $150,000
CANADIAN CONTENT: Stuart Anderson, Marc-Etienne Bussieres, Max Gilbert, Mathieu Gingras, Sebastian Szirmak, Riley Wheeldon
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eGOLF PROFESSIONAL TOUR - FOUNDERS CLUB CLASSIC
COURSE: Founders Club at St. James, Southport, N.C. (7,016 yds, par 72)
CANADIAN CONTENT: Mackenzie Hughes, Cam Burke, Ryan Terdik, Robbie Greenwell, Brett Nymeyer,
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SUNCOAST LADIES TOUR
COURSE: Rio Pinar Country Club, Orlando, FL (6,259 yds, par 72)
CANADIAN CONTENT: Natalie Gleadall, Chelcia Petersen (a)