Tiger Woods’ candid reflection on wishing he’d struck a fairer chord between his career and personal life rings somewhat similar to Rory McIlroy‘s confessions about his own marital woes.
The golf icon, with 15 major victories under his belt and a global figure, commands history as one of the trailblazers of the sport — not to mention his climb to billionaire status. Nonetheless, Woods naturally has his regrets regarding his illustrious career.
Talking back in 2017, the California-born legend mulled over what wisdom he’d pass to his younger self. He suggested easing up on the competitiveness, aiming for a better mix of professional ambition and downtime.
“I’d have to say be patient on scheduling, don’t do too much,” advised the then-41-year-old Woods in his interview with Living Golf. “[Get] different hobbies to get away from the game, have a life balance,” he added, via the Mirror US. Woods’ sentiments echo true for McIlroy, evidenced by a heartfelt disclosure during his appearance in Netflix’s newest season of the golf documentary ‘Full Swing’.
The Northern Ireland native found his private life in the spotlight last year when he lodged divorce papers against his wife Erica Stoll, exactly one day after seizing the Wells Fargo Championship for the fourth time in his career in May.
But just a month later, court entries from Palm Beach County revealed that proceedings had been halted with “a notice of voluntary dismissal”, with the divorce submission placed into the “closed” category.
The 35-year-old opened up on his divorce drama in the third episode of the popular series, with his comments emerging this week. Like Woods, McIlroy spoke candidly about his battles to keep his career on track while trying to be the ultimate family man.
“Thankfully, everything has worked out for the best and we’re happy and moving forward and I can’t wait for what lies ahead. Sometimes I struggle with the balance of being the best golfer, the best husband or the best dad,” he admitted.
The pair of golfing aces have always enjoyed a respectful friendship but they’ve amped up their kinship by teaming up to launch Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) alongside NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. The indoor three-on-three competition is all geared towards ushering in a younger audience into the world of golf.
It features PGA Tour heavy hitters squaring off at TGL’s bespoke turf in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The new competition has got F1 stars like Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Alex Albon, and Lewis Hamilton showing their faith in the project by investing.