Tiger Woods has been there too.
McIlroy, a 15-time major champion, recalled a text message he sent to longtime friend Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy after he collapsed at Pinehurst No. 2 Golf Course in North Carolina, where he lost by one stroke to Bryson DeChambeau in last month’s U.S. Open.
“I just sent him a nice message,” Woods said Tuesday ahead of the British Open, which begins Thursday at Royal Troon. “I waited a week to send it.”
“I just wanted to calm him down… I sent him a nice message. I think he played last week and he’ll play this week.”
Woods, who missed the cut by two strokes at this year’s U.S. Open, revealed what he said to McIlroy afterwards.
“You know, I’m your friend, and I know these are difficult times,” said Woods, 48. “We were all there as champions, and we’re all going to lose.
“Unfortunately it happened quite recently and the raw emotions from that time are still there and will surely remain for a while. The sooner he can get back on the horse and compete again like he did last week, the better for him.”
Reuters
McIlroy, 35, said he had not received the text message because he had changed his phone number two days after the U.S. Open and only found out about it from Woods on Tuesday.
“And then I shut out Tiger Woods, which maybe isn’t such a good thing,” McIlroy joked.
McIlroy said Michael Jordan and Rafael Nadal were among the first to reach out to him after he collapsed over the final four holes of the U.S. Open.
Reuters
DeChambeau finished the final round with a 1-over 71, or 6-under total, beating McIlroy by one stroke with a 55-yard shot from a bunker on the 18th hole.
“When I look back on that day, as much as I look back on the toughest moments of my career, I learned a lot from it and I try to use it to my advantage.” “It’s a tough decision,” McIlroy said at last week’s Scottish Open.He finished tied for fourth place at 14 under par, four strokes behind winner Robert McIntyre.
“That’s been a theme throughout my career. I’ve been able to turn those tough moments into something great very quickly afterwards.”
Thomas Cody/USA TODAY Network
McIlroy’s disastrous U.S. Open defeat came just weeks after he filed for divorce from Erica Stoll, his wife of seven years.
The two reconciled just days before the start of the U.S. Open.
Stoll, who has a three-year-old daughter, Poppy, with McIlroy, was seen cheering on the four-time major winner at the Genesis Scottish Open in Scotland.
McIlroy’s divorce petition, which cited an “irretrievably broken” marriage, was voluntarily dismissed by a court in Palm Beach County, Florida, where the couple lives. Page Six confirms last month.
“There have been some rumours circulating recently about my personal life which is unfortunate and it would be foolish to react to every single rumour,” McIlroy said. He told the Guardian This was said in a statement released on June 11th.
Getty Images
“Over the past few weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future is together as a family. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and are looking forward to a new beginning.”
McIlroy failed to finish in the top 10 at this year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Course, where Xander Schauffele beat DeChambeau by one stroke to win his first career major championship.
The last time McIlroy won a major championship was 10 years ago, at the 2014 PGA Championship.
He won the Wells Fargo Championship in May, marking his fourth victory at Quail Hollow and his 26th win on the PGA Tour.
Prior to that, McIlroy and Shane Lowry won the Zurich Classic in New Orleans in a playoff against Chad Ramey and Martin Trainor.
McIlroy began his 2024 season in January by winning the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, his fourth career victory at the event.
