It rained for the better part of Rory McIlroy's opening round in the Texas Children's Houston Open. It was an overcast, soggy and dreary Thursday morning at Memorial Park Golf Course — a pretty good representation of McIlroy's scoring as well.

Preparing for the upcoming Masters, McIlroy has been fine-tuning his skills and chose to participate in the current event due to a three-week gap before the major tournament. Earlier in the week, he revealed he had played at Augusta National, mentioning the alterations to the renowned course after Hurricane Helene's impact last October.