Past champ, meet present victor. Superstar golfers Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods joined Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show on Monday, Aug. 18, where McIlroy referred to Woods’ reign in the sport in the past tense.
“I always love seeing you man, because you remember when you were healthy?” Fallon said to Woods, who was grappling with back issues. “No, I don’t remember, no,” Woods joked. (In fact, Woods’ physical condition forced him to stand to the side while McIlroy and Fallon played a round of “Facebreakers.”)
McIlroy also chimed in on Woods’ achievements in golf, referring to his predecessor’s prime in the past tense. “I’ve gotten to know Tiger for the last few years. I guess this little run that I’m on makes me appreciate what he’s done in the past,” 25-year-old McIlroy said. “Just phenomenal, just to keep a run like this going and he’s done like way more than me.”
Woods, 38, who’s won 14 major titles over the span of his career thus far (the second most in history), looked on with no expression as McIlroy praised his past accomplishments. “Makes me appreciate how hard he worked, and how dominant a figure he was in our game,” McIlroy added.
McIlory appeared on the Today show the following morning to clarify his statements. The world’s No. 1 ranking golfer said: “It’s a huge compliment to me to be compared to Tiger or Jack [Nicklaus]… I don’t by any means think I’m the next Tiger. I’m the first Rory McIlroy. The only Rory McIlroy.”
The Irish champ also addressed his recent broken engagement to Caroline Wozniacki. “Regardless of if I’m in any sort of relationship or not, I feel like I’m capable of great golf,” he said.
Watch him play a round of “Facebreakers” against Jimmy Fallon above!
