No matter how well-intentioned he is, Rory McIlroy has not had a very good year in the public relations department, his latest unintended victims being Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday that McIlroy, the current No. 1 golfer in the world, made comments on the absence of Woods and Mickelson from the season-ending PGA Tour Championship.
Rory McIlroy caught making fun of ex-fiancee Caroline Wozniacki?
Asked about their absences, McIlroy blurted, "They are just getting older. Phil is 43 or whatever (actually 44) and Tiger is nearly 40 (he turns 39 in late December). So they are just getting into sort of the last few holes of their careers and that's what happens. It obviously just gets harder as you get older.
"I'll be able to tell you in 20 years how it feels."
Caroline Wozniacki's U.S. Open run shows she's also enjoying life apart from Rory McIlroy
The comments come a couple of days after McIlroy appeared to mimic an unusually incident that befell former fiancée and tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in which she got her racket caught in her hair during an early round match at the U.S. Open.
McIroy and Sergio Garcia were video recorded acting out the same gesture that Wozniacki exhibited. McIroy's actions raised eyebrows because of the public breakup he reported in May. The two, who had gotten engaged on New Year's Eve, had just sent out wedding invitations.
McIroy said before the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship in May that he got cold feet. It was reported later on that McIlroy broke up with Wozniacki over the phone and that she originally thought he was joking when he called.
He not only won that event but also went on to win the British Open and PGA Championship Grand Slam events.
His latest gaffe was lessened when he said he expected both Mickelson and Woods to continue to compete at the highest level, Yahoo! Sports reported, citing Mickelson's runner-up finish at the PGA Championship and Tiger being Tiger despite his back injuries sidelining him this year.
"When he gets back to full fitness you will see him here," McIlroy said.
Do you think Rory McIlroy is getting a bad rap for the circumstances that have created negative headlines for him? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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