Rory McIlroy explains why he 'blanked' Tiger Woods after U.S. Open loss

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TROON, Scotland — Rory McIlroy never answered Tiger Woods’ text message of encouragement following last month’s crushing loss on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open.

But he had a good excuse.

“Full disclosure, I changed my number two days after the U.S. Open, so I didn’t get it until he told me about it today,” McIlroy said at Royal Troon on Tuesday ahead of the Open Championship. “I was like, ‘oh, thanks very much.’ So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing.”

Earlier in the day, Woods explained that about a week after McIlroy’s loss to Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst No. 2, he had sent McIlroy a message of support.

“I waited a week before I sent it, I wanted to let it calm down,” Woods said. “I know he was being besieged by a lot of different things going on and just let it cool down for a week. Then I sent him a nice text and that’s it.”

Unfortunately, the Northern Irish star decided a few days earlier that it was the right time to cleanse his contact list, saying he received 10 or 15 texts from golf journalists in the days after missing two short putts down the stretch and opening the door for DeChambeau’s victory.

“It means a lot that he reached out. Actually, it means a lot that he waited a few days to reach out,” McIlroy said of Woods. “Wish he hadn’t have waited that long, I probably would have got it. But I caught up with him earlier. It’s always nice when your hero and the guy that you had on your bedroom wall is reaching out and offering words of encouragement.”

Woods was asked what he wrote in the text message that was never read.

“Just basically, you know: ‘I’m your friend. I know this is a difficult moment. We’ve all been there as champions. We all lose,'” Woods said. “Unfortunately, it just happened, and the raw emotion of it, it’s still there, and it’s going to be there for, I’m sure, some time.

“The faster he’s able to get back on a horse and get back into contention, like he did last week, the better it is for him.”

McIlroy said he appreciated all the outreach from friends and peers in the days after the U.S. Open, even if he trying to put the week behind him.

“I’d much rather people reach out, in fairness. It’s a lovely thing and hopefully a nice reflection on how people feel about me or what they think about me,” he said.