Tiger Woods praise for McIlroy's on and off-course work in 2022: 'Rory has had the toughest deal of all'

ByAlex Livie

Updated 26/12/2022 at 08:25 GMT

Rory McIlroy had some year in 2022, as he produced some of his best golf in years and returned to the world No. 1 spot. He was also front and centre of the debate as the PGA Tour battled against the emergence of LIV Golf. Tiger Woods was also part of that conversation, but the 15-time major winner heaped praise on McIlroy for leading the fight while still playing at the top level.

Tiger Woods has lavished praise on Rory McIlroy for the way he has led the charge for the PGA Tour while competing for honours at the top of the sport.

The emergence of LIV Golf sent shockwaves through the sport, as a host of star names such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith were lured to the Saudi-funded series by mega contracts and huge purses.

McIlroy has been a vocal critic of LIV and its firebrand CEO Greg Norman.

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The Northern Irishman’s stance has softened in recent months, saying he would prefer a resolution that allows the best in the world to compete against each other, but he has been at the head of the changes being made by the PGA Tour.

While leading the charge off the course, McIlroy has kept his standards high on the fairways.

Although he missed out on a major, going agonisingly close in the Open Championship, he won the FedEx Cup for a third time and the Harry Vardon Trophy for Europe’s top golfer for a fourth occasion.

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He also returned to world No. 1, and Woods has been deeply impressed with the 33-year-old.

"We all as players want to compete against each other and beat our brains in," Woods said. "The key is how."

“Rory has had the toughest deal of all here because he had to compete and play,” Woods said of McIlroy’s work behind the scenes on getting improved purses on the PGA Tour. “I wasn’t playing that much.

“He had to answer all these questions. We had all the meetings and conference calls together and were communicating and in lock-step behind each other.

“But I was not out front having to deal with questions in the media, he had to deal with that and not only that he had to try and play and win events, which he was able to do.

“So hats off to him for doing what he did this entire year.”

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Woods and McIlroy teamed up recently in The Match, where they were beaten by Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.

While that event saw McIlroy bring his year to a close, Woods competed in the PNC Championship alongside his son.

Both will now turn their focus to 2023, with the Masters certain to be the first big target.

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