Rory McIlroy called for steeper penalties at 2025 Texas Children's Houston Open: Insider reveals

Golf insider Rex Hoggard recently revealed that Rory McIlroy opted for steeper penalties at the Memorial Park Golf Course. Speaking on the Golf Channel podcast on April 2, Hoggard shared the information from the recently concluded Texas Children's Houston Open.

McIlroy has showcased some amazing performances in the 2025 PGA Tour season till now. In the show, Hoggard and Ryan Lavner were talking about the "ideal Masters run" in terms of preparation. Hoggard was explaining the best combination of golf courses like Pebble Beach, Riviera, Torrey Pines, Trump Doral, TPC Sawgrass, TPC San Antonio and their features. The golf insider further claimed that Rory McIlroy wanted strict penalties for Memorial Golf Course, home of the Texas Children's Houston Open. Hoggard said:

"Now, Rory did bring up a good point last week when he was playing in Houston saying that he'd like to see the rough be a little bit more penal."

"Where it seems to me guys could stand on every single tee at Memorial Park last week and just swing as hard as they wanted and it didn't matter more times than not based on where it landed now."

As per Hoggard's claims, Rory McIlroy emphasized the fact that the rough isn't that much punishing. Golfers might not receive enough penalties to sharpen up their precision. Hoggard also gave an example where the eventual winner, Min Woo Lee, got into trouble at Memorial Park. However, the golf course setup allowed most players to be aggressive. He added:

"We've seen it a couple times certainly with Min Woo Lee coming down the stretch where he found trouble where no one seemed to have found trouble before..."

"It makes no sense to me other than if you're Jordan Speed and you just want to show up at Augusta National with four rounds having a scorecard in your pocket I get that part of it but everything else really doesn't fit going into the Masters..."

Rory McIlroy is widely regarded as one of the elite golfers in the professional circuit. Although he has never won The Masters, passionate pros like McIlroy deserve a precision-based golf setup before they step into Augusta National Golf Club. The course in Augusta might not feature a thick rough, but it stands in the way of raw power and less precision.

The Masters Tournament is the first golf major of the year. As Rory McIlroy suggested, warm-up tournaments before the prestigious major should feature golf courses with better precision. Without that, professionals won't be corrected for poor precision or wrong positioning. And keeping all these in mind, it might not be the "ideal" way to prepare for Augusta.

How did Rory McIlroy perform at the 2025 Texas Children's Houston Open?

Rory McIlroy in Texas Children's Houston Open - Final Round - Source: Imagn

McIlroy is currently having a good time in the 2025 PGA Tour season with a series of amazing finishes. After opening 2025 with a win at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he scored his second win at The Players Championship.

Last week, Rory McIlroy, at the 2025 Texas Children's Houston Open, scored two hole-in-ones at the par-5 eighth hole, one in Round 3 and another in Round 4. In his final round, he bogeyed twice before finishing R4 with 6-under 64. McIlroy finished tied for T5 with a total score of 15-under 265, earning $337.8k from this PGA Tour event.

Rory McIlroy skipped the ongoing Valero Texas Open. As The Masters starts from next week in Augusta, McIlroy will make a run for the green jacket. If he secures a win at Augusta, the Northern Irishman will finally achieve a Career Grand Slam.