Rory McIlroy says a recent visit to Tiger Woods' house has given him a fresh perspective on focusing on the major events.
15-time major champion Woods will not be playing at this week's Masters at Augusta, after he suffered injuries in a car accident in February.
Down man McIlroy, who is chasing his career Grand Slam, said in a pre-Masters press conference that he learned a lot from Woods after seeing him at home recently.
"I went over to Tiger’s house a few weeks ago to see him and in his family room he’s got his trophy cabinet. It’s his 15 major trophies. I said, ‘That’s really cool. Where are all the [non-major trophies]?’ He said, ‘I don’t know.’ I go, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Yeah, my mom has some and a few are in the office and a few are wherever….’
"I was driving home and I was thinking, I mean; that’s all he cared about. All he cared about. So how easy must that have felt for him to win all the others?
"That was just always in my mind, he talked about [how] these are the four weeks that matter. So the weeks that didn’t matter, you know, he racked them up at a pretty fast clip.
"I was just thinking to myself, how easy must that have felt for him if all he cared about were four weeks a year. The other stuff must have been like practice. That’s a cool perspective to have."
Woods underwent surgery on his lower right leg and right ankle following the single-car collision he was involved in earlier this year. He was the sole occupant of the SUV in which he was driving.
McIlroy, who is without a victory on the PGA Tour since November 2019, said it was just good to see him back on the mend.
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"I spent a couple hours with him, which was nice. It was good to see him. It was good to see him in decent spirits. When you hear of these things and you look at the car and you see the crash, you think he’s going to be in a hospital bed for six months.
"But he was actually doing better than that. A few of us that live down in south Florida went to see him. I’m sure he appreciates that. Everyone would love to see him back out here again.
"I think myself, JT, Rickie [Fowler], DJ, Brooks [Koepka], all those guys down there, we all have a responsibility to try to keep his spirits up and keep him going and try to get him back out here.
"I know he’d love to be here and I’m sure he’s going to put everything he has into trying to be ready to play here next year."
The tee times and groupings for the 85th Masters were announced yesterday - McIlroy will play the opening two rounds in Georgia alongside Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, while Open champion Shane Lowry was named to play with Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar.
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