ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Tiger Woods was checking his phone July 4 when he saw a message from Rory McIlroy.
The image and accompanying text was not good.
The world No. 1 had injured his left ankle while playing soccer with his friends and later learned that he had sustained a total rupture of an ankle ligament and the associated joint capsule. On Wednesday McIlroy announced he would not be able to defend his title in this week's 144th British Open on the Old Course.
"He sent me a photo the day he did it. We talked about it for a little bit," Woods told reporters from USA TODAY Sports and ESPN.