Tiger Woods’s late-night text messages to Rory McIlroy ‘p***ed off’ the reigning Masters champion’s wife, Erica Stoll, according to a book that sheds new light on the golf legends’ friendship.
Leading golf journalist Alan Shipnuck’s new book, Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf’s Most Human Superstar, details Woods’s bizarre messages to McIlroy in the middle of the night.
‘He struggles to sleep, which I think is an effect of over-training, so I tell him to calm down sometimes,’ McIlroy said of Woods in 2017, according to Shipnuck’s book. ‘He’d be texting me at four o’clock in the morning: “Up lifting. What are you doing?”
‘Erica actually got p***ed off with it. He was texting me in the middle of the night and I was like, “Tiger is in the gym.”‘
Two of golf’s greatest-ever players, Woods and McIlroy, have become friends and business partners off the course in recent years. They have also been fierce rivals at major championships, on the PGA Tour and in the Ryder Cup for nearly 20 years.
Woods, 50, was McIlroy’s idol. The younger pro, 36, grew up in Northern Ireland and watched Woods play in the iconic 1996 US Amateur Open. McIlroy also vividly remembers seeing the then-28-year old American in the flesh while attending a tournament in Kilkenny as a teenager in 2004.
A new book has shed light on the complex friendship between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods
Having been McIlroy’s idol as a child, Woods has become close with the Masters champion
Woods would text McIlroy in the middle of the night from the gym, which ‘p***ed off’ wife Erica
McIlroy embraces daughter Poppy during the annual par-three event at the Masters on Wednesday
‘I’m drawn to him, yeah,’ McIlroy said of Woods in 2017. ‘He’s an intriguing character because you could spend two hours in his company and see four different sides to him.
‘He’s thoughtful. He’s smart. He can’t sleep so that’s all he does – he reads stuff and educates himself on everything.’
In December 2010, a fresh-faced McIlroy finally got his first chance to play with his hero in an official event.
They stayed close after that – despite their pursuits of individual golfing glory – as McIlroy leaned on Woods’s experience while cementing himself as his equal at the highest level of the sport.
Their friendship strengthened after Woods’s car crash in 2021, when he rolled his car at high speed in California so badly that he broke his right leg in multiple places and there were fears that he could have faced amputation.
McIlroy went to visit Woods while he was recovering – it was the first time he had been inside his home.
The duo are now aligned in their efforts to make significant changes to the golfing landscape. They both served on the PGA Tour’s policy board before McIlroy resigned in November 2023.
They are also co-founders of TMRW Sports, which is responsible for TGL – the high-tech indoor golf league that is trying to bring a new audience to the sport.
‘He has been an idol and a hero of mine over the years, and I feel pretty lucky that I’ve gotten to know him more intimately than some,’ McIlroy said of Woods in 2022, according to Shipnuck.
‘And he is so passionate about what we’re doing. He realizes that the PGA Tour gave him a platform to build his brand and let him be who he is, and he has tremendous respect for the people who have come before us.
‘Having his influence and having his counsel, not just myself but all of the players on the PGA Tour, he’s a great advocate to have, and it’s awesome to be doing these things with him. I have to pinch myself pretty much every day that I’m in this position.’
A fresh-faced McIlroy first played with Woods at an official event back in December 2010
The pair have remained close as McIlroy has become Woods’s equal with huge golfing success
They are also business partners and co-own the company behind TGL – the indoor golf league
McIlroy and Stoll looked united on Wednesday, two years after he called off their divorce
McIlroy became just the sixth man ever to complete golf’s career Grand Slam when he finally secured the elusive green jacket at the Masters last year.
Woods is also in that exclusive club, along with Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazenbut. But Woods will not be at Augusta National this week after checking into rehab in Switzerland.
Woods was detained by police on March 27 after flipping his SUV while attempting to overtake a truck and trailer at high speed in the Florida billionaire enclave of Jupiter Island. He was found with two pills in his pocket.
The scandalized golf legend is believed to have jetted to Switzerland last week to seek treatment after vowing to step away from the sport to focus on his health and recovery.
Woods, a five-time Masters champion, was weighing up whether to play in the Masters at the time of his arrest. He was also due to be in Augusta this week for a series of events.
The golf legend was given approval by a judge to travel outside of the United States for rehab in his latest battle with prescription pills. Shortly after, his private jet touched down in Zurich, Switzerland, where an ultra-private rehab facility is located.
Woods has been charged with driving under the influence, property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. He pleaded not guilty and is slated to appear in court on May 5.
Police released extraordinary bodycam footage detailing the aftermath of the crash last week.
Woods was arrested for DUI on March 27 after rolling his car in Jupiter Island, Florida
The golf legend’s mugshot from the police station showed him with glassy, bloodshot eyes
Woods appeared stony-faced as he sat in the passenger seat after eight hours behind bars
In one clip, Woods is heard telling police that he had spoken on the phone with President Donald Trump – who he is friends with. Trump awarded Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his first term in office.
Woods was also asked how much he had to drink, to which he replied: ‘None.’
When quizzed whether he is on any medication, he said, ‘I take a few, yes,’ before detailing that he had taken it all earlier that morning.
Woods can then be seen sitting on the front of the police car for the sobriety exercises, one of which involved a cop moving her hand from side to side in front of Woods’s face as he attempted to follow it without moving his head. In another, he was asked to touch the end of his nose.
After the tests, the golf legend – who appeared to be hiccuping – was asked to stand up and face the police car. He was then told to put his hands behind his back before being placed in cuffs.
‘I do believe your normal faculties are impaired and you’re under [the influence of] an unknown substance,’ an officer told him. ‘I’m being arrested?’ Woods asked. ‘Yes, sir,’ she responded. The affidavit, released Wednesday, also claimed Woods was ‘limping and stumbling’ during the tests.
