Rory McIlroy accidentally ghosted Tiger after changing phone number in wake of Pinehurst heartbreak
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Rory McIlroy accidentally ghosted Tiger Woods having changed his mobile number in the days after his US Open disappointment.
Speaking ahead of The 152nd British Open at Royal Troon, the Northern Irishman revealed he’d switched numbers in a bid to escape messages from some segments of the media who wanted his thoughts on his heartbreaking near-miss.
But as well as escaping the media, McIlroy missed a message from his hero and close friend Woods, who’d wanted to let the dust settle on Pinehurst before getting in touch.
McIlroy only found out he’d left Tiger unread when the two met on the range at Troon and the 15-time Major champion mentioned 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. I was like, oh, thanks very much. So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing,” McIlroy smiled.
McIlroy and Woods first met when the former was 15-years-old and the pair have struck up a bond over the years with the elder statesmen regularly offering support.
“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 incredible message after St Andrews in 2022. I’ve built up a great relationship with him, his whole family. He really enjoys spending time with my mum and dad as well.”
“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.”
McIlroy laughed off suggestions that he couldn’t afford to pay his phone bill before revealing it had been a host of messages from members of the media that had sparked the decision.
“No, no, I can pay the bills. There’s a lot of money floating around in golf at the minute,” he smiled.
“Honestly, from the time I left Pinehurst to the time I walked through my front door on Sunday night, I probably got about 10 or 15 text messages from media members, and I was like, it’s probably time to get a new number. Create a bit of space.”
It took McIlroy “three or four days” to get over his Pinehurst defeat by which point the disappointment had turned to motivation to get things done this week and finally end that decade-long wait for Major No.5.
“I know that I’m in a good spot. If I think about 2015 through 2020, I seldom had a realistic chance to win a Major championship in that five-year period. So I’d much rather have these close calls. It means that I’m getting closer.
“I’d love to be able to play the golf and get one over the line, but as soon as I do that, people are going to say, ‘Well, when are you going to win your sixth?’ So it’s never ending.”
Adjusting his game will prove key this week. Despite growing up playing links golf before having to adapt his game for the long American parkland-style courses he now plays on the PGA Tour, McIlroy admits he finds it harder to readjust when he returns to these shores and seaside golf.
“I’ve gotten much better over the years to adapting and hitting the shots that are required on links courses in blustery conditions, and I’ve sort of prided myself on that. My record in the Open Championship over the last few years has been very, very good.
“Yeah, it still takes a little while when you play 11 months of your golf every year in very different conditions. That’s why I thought it was so important for me to get back and play the Scottish Open last week, just to refamiliarize myself with the turf, the types of shots needed around the greens, and even the wind. You feel like in warmer conditions in America, like a wind that’s a similar strength doesn’t affect the ball as much as it just feels like a real heavy wind here, especially when you play at seaside links.”
Before heading to Scotland, McIlroy spent some “liberating” time in Manhattan where he roamed the High Line with his earphones in, escaping the hectic life that comes with being a global sporting superstar, husband and father.
“The thing is just to get out, to not be on a screen, to look around – I think trying to find the joy from the small things in life.
“Going there especially is a good reset, just in terms of seeing everyone living their lives and the hustle and the bustle. Honestly, no one gave a shit if I missed the putt at Pinehurst. It’s a nice perspective to keep.
“Just to go and get lost in a big city like that and just be one of the herd sort of going about your day, it’s – for me anyway, it’s a nice feeling.”
This week Rory is one of a herd of 156 wanting to lift the Claret Jug but this is far from a place where he’ll just be able to blend in. Instead, he’s desperately hoping that his phone will be lighting up for the right reasons on the Sunday night of this Major.
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Rory McIlroy at his British Open press conference at Royal Troon.
