Rory happy to be making progress

Pleased: Rory McIlroy was happy to see some improvements in his game at the Shell Houston Open

World No.2 encouraged by state of his game after Shell Houston Open

Rory McIlroy declared himself happy with the state of his game after finishing in a tie for 45th at the Shell Houston Open.

The Northern Irishman began the tournament knowing that a win would see him reclaim the world No.1 spot that he lost to Tiger Woods last week. However, whilst that didn’t materialise, McIlroy was still relieved to see improvements in his game after enduring a nightmare start to the 2013.

“There are a lot of positives to take from this week,” said the 23-year-old after closing with a 70 at Redstone Golf Club to finish on four-under-par, 12 shots behind eventual winner D.A. Points. “I’ve learned a few things as well that I can bring into next week and obviously looking ahead to Augusta, too.

“It’s been a productive week. Obviously, it wasn’t the finish that I would have wanted, but there are still a lot of things I can take from it.”

McIlroy has struggled for form for most of the season. After missing the cut in his opening tournament of the year, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, he was eliminated from the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship in the first round. He then withdrew from the Honda Classic midway through his second round, citing wisdom tooth pain. However, he then finished tied for eighth in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral before again playing all four rounds last week.

“I think the way I’ve struck the ball for the most part has been really good,” said the two-time major winner. “I think my short game has been sharp. I think that’s been a very positive sign this week.

“And, again, everyone hits bad shots. I’ve just got to hit the bad shots in the right places, not short-side myself and hit them in hazards and give myself a little more margin for error.”

With the Masters due to begin a week on Thursday, McIlroy is so determined to rediscover his best form that he has cancelled a planned humanitarian trip to Haiti to instead play in this week’s Valero Texas Open.

“It was something I hadn’t thought about until basically after I finished ,” he said. “My caddie J.P. was the one that mentioned it to me. He said, ‘If you just play a few more rounds, I think you’re going to be ready’. I didn’t really think about it too much and sat down, had some lunch, started to think about it and I texted him and said, I don’t think this is a bad idea.”