Rory McIlroy opens up about his friendship with Tiger Woods

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have apparently struck up a friendship.

In an interview with the Irish Times, McIlroy, the ranked No. 1 in the world, told the newspaper that the golf stars have a fun, light-hearted replationship.

“Tiger gives me stick about being short,” McIlroy said. “He always asks me, ‘Seriously, how tall are you?’ I’ll say, ‘5-foot-9.’ ‘Yeah, but without the hair? That’s 5-7, right?’ He’ll ask me, ‘What do you do when Caroline [Wozniacki, McIlroy’s girlfriend] wears heels?’

“But I give him grief about all sorts – getting old, getting bald. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, certainly not when I’m around. … I’ve been seeing loads of Tiger and I’ve got to know the person.”

McIlroy and Woods played together for the first time in an official event in January in Abu Dhabi.

Even though McIlroy has outperformed Woods on the 2012 PGA Tour, in an interview with reporters on Wednesday he laughingly dismissed claims that he’s intimidating Woods.

Wood has “a new nickname for me, actually. He calls me ‘The Intimidator,’ ” McIlroy quipped.

“No. How can I intimidate Tiger Woods? I mean, the guy’s got 75 or whatever PGA Tour wins, 14 majors. He’s been the biggest thing ever in our sport.

“How could some little 23-year-old from Northern Ireland with a few wins come up and intimidate him. It’s just not possible. I don’t know where he got that from, but it’s not true.”

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