Rory McIlroy recently made some revealing statements in an up-close interview with ‘The Independent’. The biggest story that came out of the dialogue was the Brit’s admission of catching COVID-19 days before the Open Championship began. Worse, he could have transferred the disease to Tiger Woods, who had felt unwell before the event.

Rory McIlroy’s startling admission involving Tiger Woods and COVID-19

Tiger Woods has been close friends with McIlroy since the latter’s introduction to the PGA Tour. Hence, it was a no-brainer that the 15-time Major Championship winner practiced with him ahead of the Open Championship.

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In the recent interview, McIlroy detailed the timeline before the event. “Tiger needed a rest on Wednesday. We had played two days of golf at Adare and the plan was to play Ballybunion on Thursday,” he said.

However, the next morning, McIlroy felt some uneasiness, but decided to stick around with the plan. “I woke up that morning feeling a bit achy but didn’t really think anything of it.” However, after having lunch, the current World No. 1 knew something was amiss.

“I’m sore and stiff and super tired. I said to Erica, ’I’m feeling a bit weird. I’m just going upstairs to lie down for a bit,’” McIlroy said. “I slept for maybe two hours and the sweat was just pouring off me, then Erica took my temperature and it was sky high.”

Did Woods suffer the same ill feeling as McIlroy?

Sensing the uncertainty, McIlroy immediately called up Woods to check on his health. “I rang Tiger: ‘I’m not feeling so good here.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, I feel okay.’” However, the situation changed drastically by night.

“But he texted me at 10 o’clock that night, chills, fever, and I’m like, ‘F*****g hell, I’ve just given Tiger Covid! This is horrendous!’” McIlroy revealed. In bewildering fashion, he confessed that he and Woods were suffering from COVID-19 heading into the tournament. “So we both had Covid going into the Open,” he claimed.

The tweet containing the exchange undoubtedly made the rounds on the internet. Many were left aghast over the piece of news, while others let it slip. Here’s a selection of those tweets.

The story remained under wraps at that time, which made it easy for both golfers to participate in the tournament. Both had contrasting fortunes – Woods failed to make the cut, whereas McIlroy finished third in the standings, merely two shots off the summit.

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