Watch me, Rory told Tiger 16 years ago
McIlroy, aged nine, warned Woods he was coming to get him
THE emergence of a letter written by a nine-year-old Rory McIlroy to Tiger Woods shows the Northern Irishman always knew how good he would be. Now, if the rest of the United Kingdom would only catch up.
If McIlroy wins this week’s Masters and so, at the age of 25, becomes only the sixth player in history to complete the career grand slam, this could be credited as the greatest individual achievement by any British or Irish individual sports person. Alas, that claim would probably be shot down in a hail of three-irons.
McIlroy’s shot at immortality features on the cover of the New York Times magazine (in itself, another first for an individual UK sports person).
In the guts of the near 5 000word profile comes a startling and telling revelation.
McIlroy agrees that the note he sent to Woods after winning the Under-10s World Championship in 1998 went something like this: “I’m coming to get you. This is the beginning. Watch this space.”
Amazingly, a green jacket this week would be nowhere near the end. It would simply be the continuation of an unprecedented UK sports story. We would genuinely never have seen the like.
Meanwhile, Woods has announced that he will return from a two-month lay-off to play in the Masters this week. And at his Florida home, McIlroy let out a big hurrah.
Woods, the 14-time majorwinner now ranked 104th in the world, made his announcement on his website, so ending the game’s anxious wait to see if he would show up after a twoyear absence from the course which defined his greatness.
“I’m playing in the Masters,” Woods declared, an exclamation mark sadly missing. “It’s obviously very important to me, and I want to be there. I have worked a lot on my game and I am looking forward to competing. I am excited to get to Augusta.”
Phil Mickelson is not surprised that Woods has decided to play and expects the former world number one to have fixed the issues with his short game.
At the Houston Open this week, Mickelson — tuning up for a run at a fourth Masters title — had seven birdies on Friday but settled for a share of second place behind Andrew Putnam after two rounds of the Houston Open. — Telegraph