Thirteen years of rubbing shoulders with Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy is still in awe of the 15-time Major champion. “Lucky,” that’s how the Northern Irishman feels knowing his childhood icon up close. The 24-time PGA Tour winner was speaking at the Overlap podcast hosted by Manchester United legend Gary Neville.

In the presence of fellow legend Roy Keane, another of McIlroy’s childhood heroes, and Jamie Carragher, and Ian Wright, the conversation went from soccer to majors and LIV Golf via his special bond with Tiger Woods. Woods and McIlroy aligned in their views about most things golf, from the rollback policy to their stance against LIV Golf. And although McIlroy has softened up on the latter after Rahm’s defection, his respect for the former World No. 1 hasn’t waned a bit.

Rory McIlroy opens up about his brotherly relationship with Tiger Woods

In case you didn’t know, Rory McIlroy is a huge Red Devils fan who, as a 12-year-old kid, wanted to sign an autograph of Roy Keane, only to be met with a “not today, kid.” 22 years and four majors later, sitting beside the Man U legend made the conversations all the more interesting. Pointing toward Keane, McIlroy said, “People say you don’t wanna meet your heroes,” but knowing Woods was totally different.

McIlroy’s ties with the veteran golfer stretch beyond the greens. The conversation and get-togethers extend beyond golf. McIlroy said,  “He’s been really good with me over the years, and really good with my family… mom and my dad and my wife Erica, and our daughter, Poppy.”

In fact, Rory McIlroy feels the veteran golfer considers him a younger brother. “I feel like sometimes he sees me as like a little brother in a way, and he can relate to me, and he’s trying to help me out.” Did he get any tips from the 82-time PGA Tour winner? You bet. “I’ve been over to his house a couple of times, and he’ll show me shots,” said the 34-year-old.

The four-time Major winner feels “lucky that… I’ve been able to learn those things from him.” McIlroy first saw Tiger Woods at the 2002 WGC-American Express Championship at Mount Juliet Golf Course in Ireland. 21 years later, Rory McIlroy considers it a privilege to know Woods up close.

The 48-year-old takes his privacy pretty seriously. “I don’t feel like he’s like that with everyone. So we’re already pretty lucky.” Indeed, only a select few on the Tour, such as Fred Couples and Justin Thomas, share the kind of relationship that McIlroy has with Woods.

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