2024-07-18 07:15:38
Woods, McIlroy console, recall 2009 upset loss to Yang Yong-eun
McIlroy: “I lost the US Open and even changed my phone number”
Montgomery’s ‘retirement’ statement: “I will continue to participate as long as I can play”
Ahead of the British Open (hereinafter referred to as the Open), the last major golf tournament of the season, ‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods (USA) selected Yang Yong-eun as the player who gave him the most painful defeat in his career.
At a pre-Open press conference held at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland on the 17th (Korean time), Woods consoled Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), who was shocked by his failure to win the US Open, and recalled his failure to win the 2009 PGA Championship.
At that time, Woods lost to Yang Yong-eun on the final day of the tournament.
“I was leading at the time, but I was overtaken by Yang Yong-eun. I had never been overtaken by a major before,” Woods said. “It took a long time to recover after that.”
McIlroy also came close to winning the US Open last June, but missed a short putt and lost to Bryson DeChambeau (USA).
Woods consoled McIlroy by saying, “I missed a lot of putts. (Retired American professional basketball star) Michael Jordan missed a lot of shots. The important thing is to keep trying to hit winning shots.”
After failing to win the US Open, McIlroy reportedly even changed his phone number.
“I changed my phone number to avoid contact with everyone, and I only recently found out about the encouraging message Woods sent me,” McIlroy said at a press conference that day.
Woods then responded to comments from Colin Montgomerie (Scotland), who recently criticized him for being “past the time to retire,” by saying, “As a champion, I have an exemption until I turn 60,” indicating that he will continue to participate in competitions in the future.
“I didn’t even have a chance to decide (whether to play on the PGA Tour) because Montgomerie wasn’t a champion, but I’m not,” Woods said. “I’m going to play as long as I can, and I still believe I can win.”
Woods, the golf emperor who has won 82 times on the PGA Tour and 15 major championships, returned this season after suffering a serious leg injury in a car accident in 2021.
However, he recently underperformed, missing the cut at both the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, and some are saying that his career is over.
Montgomerie criticized Woods, saying, “It looked like Woods wasn’t enjoying his shots at the U.S. Open, and you wondered, ‘What on earth is he doing?’” and “It’ll be the same at the Open next week.”
Meanwhile, Woods, who has won the Open three times, will begin the first round of the tournament with Xander Schauffele (USA) and Patrick Cantlay (USA) at 10:37 PM on the 18th, Korean time.
McIlroy, the 2014 champion of this tournament, will tee off with Max Homa (USA) and Tyrrell Hatton (England) at 6:09 p.m. on the 18th, ahead of Woods.
[서울=뉴시스]
-
- great
- 0dog
-
- I’m so sad
- 0dog
-
- I’m angry
- 0dog
-
- I recommend it
- dog
Hot news right now
2024-07-18 07:15:38