Rory McIlroy paid a warm tribute to Tiger Woods as he and other Nike-sponsored players turned up for yesterday’s final round of the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession decked out in Woods’ trademark red and black.
Woods is recovering in hospital following surgery on his legs due to injuries sustained in a single vehicle accident last week.
“I guess for us it’s just a gesture to let him know that we’re thinking about him and we’re rooting for him. Obviously things are looking a little better today than they were on Tuesday, but he’s still got aways to go. He’s got a huge recovery ahead of him,” said McIlroy.
“I think just for everyone to show their appreciation for what he means to us out here. If there was no Tiger Woods, there would be — I just think the tour and the game of golf in general would be in a worse place. He’s meant a lot to us, he still does mean a lot to us and I think that was just a little way to show that,” he added.
McIlory finished joint sixth on 12-under-par, six shots behind 2020 PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa who joined Woods as the only players to win a Major and World Golf Championships event before turning 25.
The other players who used the red/black colour scheme included Patrick Reed, Jason Day, Tony Finau, Tommy Fleetwood and Sebastian Munoz.
“We’ve enjoyed so many Sundays watching Tiger do his thing. Red and black, we know that’s what Tiger does on Sundays, so to just join in and just let Tiger know we’re supporting him in the best way we can,” said Finau.
“We’re still playing and we miss him out here, but it was cool just to be a part of that today.”
