TROON, Scotland – In the aftermath of Rory McIlroy’s tough loss last month a the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods decided to wait a few days before sending his support.
“I just sent him a nice text,’’ Woods said at Royal Troon, site of this week’s British Open. “That was it. I waited a week before I sent it. I wanted to let it calm down.’’
One problem. McIlroy had changed his phone number and didn’t get it.
“Full disclosure, I changed my number two days after the U.S. Open, so I didn’t get it until he told me about it today,’’ McIlroy said after a practice round at Royal Troon. “I was like, 'Oh, thanks very much.’ So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing.’’
McIlroy bogeyed three of the last four holes at Pinehurst last month to lose the U.S. Open by a stroke to Bryson DeChambeau. It was a painful loss as McIlroy missed a short putt on the 16th hole and had another tricky putt on the 18th that would have put him in a playoff.
In the aftermath, McIlroy withdrew from the Travelers Championship, returning last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, where he tied for fifth.
He is grouped with Max Homa and Tyrrell Hatton for the first two rounds of the Open and begins play at 5:09 a.m. (ET) on Thursday.
Woods said he told McIlroy: “I’m your friend. I know this is a difficult moment. We’ve all been there as champions. We all lose. Unfortunately, it just happened and the raw emotion of it, it’s still there, and it’s going to be there for, I’m sure, some time. The faster he’s able to get back on a hoard and get back into contention, like he did last week, the better it is for him.’’
McIlroy said the gesture was appreciated, even though he only learned of it on Tuesday.
“Tiger has been nothing but incredible to me over the course of my career in the good moments and the bad,’’ McIlroy said. He sent me an incredible message after St Andrews in 2022 (where McIlroy fell short at the Open). I met Tiger when I was 15 years old, and I've built up a great relationship with him, his whole family. He really enjoys spending time with my mom and dad as well.
“So, it means a lot. It means a lot that he reached out. Actually it means a lot that he waited a few days to reach out, which if he hadn't have waited that long, I probably would have got it.
“But I caught up with him earlier. It's always nice when your hero and the guy that you had on your bedroom wall is reaching out and offering words of encouragement.’’
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy Reveals Surprising Reason He Didn't Receive Text From Tiger Woods.
