He’s not Superman, says McIlroy as he sounds alarm
RORY McILROY won’t compose a requiem for Tiger Woods, but he hinted we may be witnessing “the end of seeing the genius at work with a club in his hand”.
The world No 8 is looking to bounce back from his first missed cut in 19 months at the WGCWorkday Championship at The Concession near Tampa.
But when it came to Woods’ horrific road traffic accident and the smashed right leg and shattered ankle that have put the 15-time Major winner’s golfing future in serious doubt, he dismissed talk of another Tiger comeback as premature.
“He’s not Superman,” McIlroy said. “He’s a human being at the end of the day. And he’s already been through so much. At this stage, I think everyone should just be grateful that he’s here, that he’s alive, that his kids haven’t lost their dad. That’s the most important thing. Golf is so far from the equation right now.”
When asked if the players had spoken about “paying tribute” to Woods, he sounded exasperated.
“You say ‘pay tribute to him’. He’s not gone,” McIlroy said. “He’s been in a very bad accident. We’re very lucky that he’s still here. I feel like we should pay tribute to him every day for being on the PGA Tour and what he’s done for golf.”
McIlroy has become close to Woods in recent years and still marvels at how he came back to win the 2019 Masters after seeing him at his lowest ebb.
“Look, I don’t want to take anything away from what Ben Hogan did after his car crash or any of the other comebacks that athletes have had in other sports,” he said.
“But right now, I can’t think of any greater comeback in sports than the journey that he made from that lunch we had in 2017 to winning the Masters a couple years later.”
Addressing the inevitability of Woods’ retirement, he added: “We might . . . it may be the end of seeing the genius at work with a club in his hand, but there’s still a lot of other ways that he can affect the game in a great way.”
McIlroy tees it up with Genesis Invitational winner Max Homa and the struggling Justin Thomas (4.31pm Irish time) looking to continue his habit of bouncing back spectacularly from missed cuts.
“The last two missed cuts I’ve had, I’ve gone and played well,” he said. “I won Canada and I bounced back after Portrush and got into the final group at a World Golf Championship.
“It’s funny, it’s going to sound really weird, I worked so hard the week before Riviera in that week off, but I felt so unprepared to play if that makes sense?”
Shane Lowry has had two weeks off since the Saudi International and he’s “excited” about playing five events in a row before taking the week off before the Masters.
“You have two WGCs, The Players and the Masters in seven weeks, so it’s a time when you’d love to hit some form,” said Lowry, who tees it up with Matthew Wolff and Frenchman Victor Perez (5.04pm)
Working
“I have been working hard and doing my thing. I’m hopeful everything will click into place at the right times over the next few weeks. I know, if I put myself there, I can do something special. Every week over the next seven weeks is a huge opportunity.”
As for Woods’ accident, the Offaly man expressed concern for the American and his family, adding: “I am sure everybody knows what Tiger has done for our game. The reason we are out here playing for all the money we are and being as successful as we are is because of Tiger Woods, in my opinion.
“First things first, you feel for him and hope he gets through it OK, and hopefully he gets through this and the surgery and gets back walking.”
In the Puerto Rico Open, Pádraig Harrington joins Bo Van Pelt and Ricky Barnes (11.17am Irish time), as Seamus Power tees it up with Johnson Wagner and Bronson Burgoon (11.06am).
Meanwhile, Stephanie Meadow will begin the new LPGA Tour season alongside Korea’s Jeongeun Lee and Chinas Jing Yan in the Gainbridge LPGA at Lake Nona (4.30pm) as Leona Maguire partners Tiffany Joh and Thailand’s Wichanee Meechai (5.58pm)
WGC-Workday Championship,
Live, Sky Sports, 4.0pm
Gainbridge Championship
Live, Sky Sports, 7.30pm