Two weeks after winning the Players Championship in a playoff, Rory McIlroy was looking at a serious, if understandable letdown. The Ulsterman teed off late on Friday in the Texas Children’s Hospital Houston Open, in the opposite draw of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who tied his Memorial Park course record with a second-round 62 to take the lead.

Rory McIlroy was in the running to win the Houston Open before finishing in a tie for fifth, but there were plenty of positives to take into the upcoming Masters at Augusta

Rory McIlroy was at risk of missing the cut at the Texas Children's Houston Open in his final event before The Masters, but the world No. 2 birdied three of his final four holes to make the weekend

Overnight leader Justin Rose passed an early test of nerves to start his second round at the Masters on Friday, hitting an exquisite pitch shot from off the green to set up an opening tap-in par to remain seven-under.

We know pulling for Rory to end his decade-plus-long major-less streak is bad for us, a vice that disguises itself as a virtue. We swear we’re done with it — no more betting on McIlroy to win, no more pinning our emotional well-being on the most compelling player in the game today.

If it is Thursday at Augusta National then it must be Justin Rose leading – and, alas, it must be Rory McIlroy falling short.