There is absolutely no question that Tiger Woods is one of the most talented players the game of golf has ever seen, with only Jack Nicklaus winning more majors than Woods.
Tiger Woods looked to be destined for greatness from an incredibly young age. Butch Harmon drew parallels between Woods and Ben Hogan the first time he saw him swing a golf club.
And had injuries not hampered his career from 2008 onwards, it is hard to imagine Woods not going on and overtaking Jack Nicklaus‘ record.
But the 49-year-old was also prepared to be the hardest worker in the room. Woods once remarked that he would relax a lot more if he had John Daly’s talent. And it seems that he used to leave Rory McIlroy almost baffled by the lengths he would go to.
Why Rory McIlroy believed Tiger Woods used to struggle to sleep
Speaking to the Irish Independent in 2017, McIlroy was asked whether he liked Woods. And it seems that there was a competitive edge to their relationship.
Unfortunately, it appears that McIlroy’s wife was not always impressed by the bond the two players had.
“I’m drawn to him, yeah. He’s an intriguing character because you could spend two hours in his company and see four different sides to him. When he’s comfortable and he trusts you — and his trust [sensitivity] is way [higher] than mine — he’s great,” he said.
“He’s thoughtful. He’s smart. He reads. He can’t sleep so that’s all he does — he reads stuff and educates himself on everything. But he struggles to sleep, which I think is an effect of overtraining, so I tell him to calm down sometimes. He’d be texting me at four o’clock in the morning: ‘Up lifting. What are you doing?’
“Erica actually got p—-d off with it. He was texting me in the middle of the night and I was like, ‘Tiger is in the gym’.”
The aspect of Tiger Woods’ dominance which often gets overlooked
The strain that has been placed on Woods is often overlooked. Of course, he has played a key role in that because he has kept his life away from the golf course so guarded over the years.
But it is hard to imagine the sacrifices that anyone at that level in their field must make to reach their full potential. Woods probably wonders why more of his peers are not in the gym at 4am as they struggle to sleep.
Woods has seemingly become more willing to share more of himself in the last few years. But it is probably fair to assume that the golfing world will never get to really know enough about the 15-time major champion, particularly when people like McIlroy are left somewhat confused by his behaviour.
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