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Despite all the talk of the next big golf rivalry, young superstar Rory
McIlory and 14-time major winner Tiger Woods have been sharing laughs
and compliments at the opening event of the FedEx Cup.
"He's a
nice kid, he really is," 14-times major champion Woods told reporters
about the Northern Irishman. "I played with him in Abu Dhabi. We struck
up a friendship back then, and it's continued. I think it's only going
to get better."
Even when media tried to incite McIlroy into
making an inflammatory statement and ask him whether he'd like to take on
Woods one-on-one at Medinah at the Ryder Cup, his answer was
tongue-in-cheek and said with a smile.
"Yeah, I'd love to go out there. I'd love Tiger to go out first and (I'd) kick his ass."
Woods laughed it off and the two are enjoying the banter.
"He
just said, 'There's no way in hell you're kicking my ass.' Obviously it
was just a joke, and it was funny. We had a laugh out of it, so it was
good," McIlroy grinned.
The love-in continued at the press
conference as Woods was fulsome in his praise of the two-time major
winner from Northern Ireland.
"What an amazing talent he really
is," said Woods. "I just hope that everyone just lets him grow and
develop as a player because it's going to be fun to see over the next 20
years how this kid's career is going to pan out."
When it comes to talk of rivalries, McIlroy dismisses the notion and prefers to focus on scores.
"There
have been rivalries built up in golf before, but our main objective is
breaking par on the course," McIlroy said. "If we were playing match
play every week, of course we could build up some sort of rivalries.
"Or
players could. I'm not just saying Tiger and myself. We're trying to
shoot three under, four under, five under, we're not trying to beat each
other. Of course it's nice, but you're playing the course first and
foremost.
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