Rory McIlroy to Erica Stoll: "F***ING HELL! I've given Tiger COVID!"

Rory McIlroy has revealed he gave Tiger Woods COVID-19 in the run-up to the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in a wide-ranging interview.

Ben Smith

27 Nov 2022

Rory McIlroy to Erica Stoll: "F***ING HELL! I've given Tiger COVID!"

Rory McIlroy has revealed he and Tiger Woods both contracted COVID-19 in the days leading up to the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews.

In a wide-ranging interview with Paul Kimmage of the Sunday Independent, 33-year-old McIlroy explained how he tested positive after playing in a two-day event at Adare Manor as they both prepared for the landmark major at the home of golf.

McIlroy told Kimmage:

"We had played two days of golf at Adare and the plan was to play Ballybunion on Thursday. I woke up that morning feeling a bit achy but didn’t really think anything of it.

"JP gave us his chopper and we went down with Seán [Flaherty, McIlroy's manager] and Tiger's manager, Rob [McNamara]. We got around fine, flew back to Adare for lunch and as I'm getting up from the table, I'm sore and stiff and super tired. I said to Erica, 'I'm feeling a bit weird. I'm just going upstairs to lie down for a bit.'

"I slept for maybe two hours and the sweat was just pouring off me, then Erica took my temperature and it was sky high. I rang Tiger: 'I'm not feeling so good here.' And he goes, 'Oh, I feel okay.' But he texted me at 10 o'clock that night, chills, fever, and I'm like, 'F*****g hell, I've just given Tiger Covid! This is horrendous!'

"So we both had Covid going into the Open."

McIlroy revealed he quarantined at Adare Manor but apart from a few aches and pains the big side affect was losing his sense of taste.

He noticed this when he sipped on some red wine at the past champions' dinner at St. Andrews, which Greg Norman wasn't invited to.

For all of you wine connoisseurs it was a 2005 Bordeaux.

He continued:

"I had planned to go to St Andrews early but ended up quarantining at Adare, and it probably took me until the Sunday to start feeling better.

"If it had happened last year, with everything that was going on in my game, I would have been in a panic, but I was in a good place and thought, 'I'll be fine.'

"On Tuesday night I went to the champions dinner and it was lovely. I was sitting there drinking water and they poured a glass of wine, a lovely 2005 Bordeaux, and I was like, 'Ahh, I'll just have a little sip,' but I couldn't taste it. The whole week of the Open I didn't have any taste, and everything smelled like vinegar to me. Everything. It was really strange."

McIlroy was unable to end his major drought at St. Andrews as he finished third behind Cameron Smith and Cameron Young.

The heartbreak led him to crying into his wife's arms on a golf cart after he completed his media duties.

Woods was also overcome with emotion when he likely said goodbye to his last ever St. Andrews Open.

He was given an almighty reception as he walked over the Swilcan Bridge. McIlroy - who had just started his final round at the time - stopped in the adjacent fairway to pay his respects to the 15-time major champion.

It was this moment that Tiger later said set him off.

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