Rory McIlroy shared a humorous anecdote about unintentionally ignoring Tiger Woods for weeks after he switched his phone number following the gut-wrenching finish at last month's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
After narrowly missing out on victory to Bryson DeChambeau by just one stroke in North Carolina, prolonging his decade-long chase for another major win, McIlroy decided to disconnect for a while. He not only escaped to New York City to lose himself among the masses but also opted for a new phone number.
McIlroy explained that the barrage of texts from journalists in the immediate aftermath of the tournament's end at Pinehurst, where he bogeyed three of the last four holes and squandered a solid lead, was overwhelming. Hence, the 35-year-old chose to start anew with a different number. Unfortunately, this meant he missed a consoling message from his old pal Woods in a sweet gesture from the golf legend.
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"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 revealed in his pre-Open press conference at Royal Troon. "I was like 'Oh, thanks very much.' So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing."
The bond between Woods and McIlroy had reportedly been under tension earlier this year due to ongoing discussions about a potential merger between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, as the two golf legends held different views on the sport's direction.
However, Woods showed he still supports McIlroy, explaining the content of his message to the four-time major champion during a press conference on Tuesday morning.
"I just sent him a nice text. That was it," Woods revealed. "I waited a week before I sent it. I wanted to let it calm down. I know he was being bombarded by a lot of different things going on, and just let it cool down for a week. Then I sent him a nice text, and that's it. I think he played last week, and now he's playing this week.
"[I said ] just basically 'I'm your friend. I know this is a tough time. 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 quicker he can get back in the saddle and get back into contention, like he did last week, the better it is for him."
McIlroy was effusive in his praise for Woods, who had hinted that this could be his final Open before appearing in a defiant mood in the press conference.
McIlroy stated: "Tiger has been nothing but incredible to me over the course of my career in the good moments and the bad. He sent me an amazing message after St. Andrews in 2022.
"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 mum and dad as well. So, yeah, 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."
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