Rory McIlroy is no longer the number one golfer in the world, but that did not stop him from getting in touch with the new one, as the Northern Irish golfer sent Tiger Woods a text message to congratulate him on attaining the number one ranking after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday.
According to ESPN.com, McIlroy skipped the tournament and will instead have his warm up for the Masters next week in Houston. Instead, he spent his time over the weekend with his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, who was playing in a tennis event in Key Biscayne. McIlroy hit some long range balls with her and tennis star Novak Djokovic on Saturday and will not be without the number one rank for the first time in 32 weeks.
Woods had been down from the ranking since October 2010, following his divorce and sex scandal, falling as low as 58th in the world at one point. Woods did not win on the tour for two years, but has been hot over the past 20 starts, winning six tournaments, including three events ahead of the Masters, the first time he has done that since 2008.
Funny enough, that was also the same year Woods won his last major, the US Open in an exciting playoff.
McIlroy is now second in the rankings as he prepares for the Houston Open this week, which will be his last tournament prior to the Masters. Woods will not play this weekend and appears to be the favorite to take the major after winning at Doral and Torrey Pines this season before winning at Bay Hill on Monday, his eighth time winning the tournament.
"I didn't think I could go into the Masters under the radar," McIlroy said. "I can go in a little bit underneath him. So, in a way, it's not a bad thing."
McIlroy had an amazing year in 2012, winning four tournaments, including the PGA Championship. But this season has been anything but amazing, as he switched to new Nike clubs and has struggled at nearly every tournament, including at Abu Dhabi and at Match Play. He walked off at the Honda Classic and quit after dealing with tooth pain and then later rebounded with a solid finish at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, which Woods won two weeks ago.
"We're not machines, we're humans," McIlroy said. "You're going to have patches where you play great and have patches where you struggle a little bit. I guess you've just got to take the rough and the smooth and just try and treat those times, sort of play and be patient and know that you're working on the right things."
McIlroy also plans on visiting Haiti before the Masters, something he has done in the past. According to ESPN, the golfer is an Ireland ambassador to UNICEF and is very involved in charity work.