PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Among the myriad topics covered by Rory McIlroy in his pre-tournament news conference at The Players Championship – from his recent playoff loss to Rickie Fowler to his decision to skip this event last year to the game’s need for a rivalry – was a revealing tale about the first time he met Tiger Woods.
“I think the first time I met Tiger I was a little star struck,” recalled McIlroy, who said the meeting occurred in Scotty Cameron’s putting studio when he was 15 years old. “I watched him on TV winning majors by 15 and 12 and doing things that no one else could.”
How nervous was he? Even more than when he met a prominent world leader years later.
“It’s funny, I was talking about this last night,” he said. “I was more nervous meeting Tiger than I was meeting Barack Obama.”