The Open: Rory McIlroy ready for fresh major challenge after missing Tiger Woods’ post-US Open message | Golf News

Rory McIlroy has revealed he accidentally “blanked” Tiger Woods when he changed his phone number after his final-round heartbreak at the US Open.

McIlroy squandered a two-shot lead during the final day at Pinehurst No 2, with three bogeys in his last four holes seeing him finish runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau and continue his wait for an elusive fifth major victory.

The Northern Irishman revealed earlier this week that Rafael Nadal and Michael Jordan were among the stars to send him messages of support, while Woods confirmed ahead of The Open that he had also reached out to McIlroy a few days after the disappointing finish.

McIlroy withdrew from the Travelers Championship the week after the US Open and spent a few days wandering around Manhattan, where he changed his phone number and was unaware that Woods had tried to communicate with him.

“Full disclosure, I changed my number two days after the US Open, so I didn’t get it until he told me about it today,” McIlroy said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I was like, ‘oh, thanks very much’.

“So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing. 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 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. It means a lot that he reached out.

“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.”

Woods discussed the message he sent during his press conference at Royal Troon, where the 15-time major champion explained the “raw emotion” that McIlroy will be facing after extending his major drought.

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“I just sent him a nice text,” Woods said. “I waited a week before I sent it. I wanted to let it calm down. I know he was being besieged by a lot of different things going on, and just let it cool down for a week.”

Asked what he had said in the message, Woods added: “Just basically, as you know, 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 horse and get back into contention, like he did last week [in the Scottish Open], the better it is for him.”

Will McIlroy bounce back at The Open?

McIlroy now has 21 top 10s in majors since his 2014 PGA Championship success, including six top-six finishes in his last eight appearances at The Open, with the 35-year-old heading to Royal Troon off the back of claiming a share of fourth place in his title defence at the Genesis Scottish Open.

“It [talk about another major win] doesn’t bother me,” McIlroy added. “I know that I’m in a good spot. If I think about 2015 through 2020, that five-year stretch 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.”

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On his form heading into the final men’s major of the year, McIlroy said: “Game’s in really good shape. Had a nice reset after Pinehurst that was needed and felt like I shook off a little bit of the rust last week [at the Scottish Open] and played okay.

“I felt like I probably could have given myself more of a chance to win the tournament. I thought it was a solid week. Again, it’s like one eye on preparing for this week, but another eye on trying to get into contention as well. It’s felt nice to get back over here and get back into the swing of things.”

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