RORY McILROY happened to cross paths with his ex-fiancee Caroline Wozniacki during his second round at Augusta last month.
The awkward-sounding moment occurred just prior to the four-time major winner hitting his tee shot on the second hole.
Having struggled on day one, he continued to play miles off his best and wound up missing the cut when even a severely hobbled Tiger Woods was able to make it.
By all accounts, former tennis world number one Wozniacki was only close by him for that one particular shot.
She is known to be a golf fan and was enjoying the occasion as a whole by rambling around the entirety of the historic course.
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McIlroy's manager Sean O’Flaherty was reportedly seen looking surprised as she walked past them.
The Masters remains the lone major that has eluded McIlroy with his collapse while leading by four shots on the Sunday of the 2011 edition going down in infamy as one of the great golfing choke jobs.
The hope for fans ahead of this year's tournament had been that he was a better player than ever having ironed out his tendency to be inconsistent - particularly during first rounds.
2022 saw him record a brilliant year as he notched three wins as well as topping the FedEx Cup and DP World Tour rankings - which was a career first over a single year.
He was also in the mix at all four majors, most notably The Open, and had by far and away the lowest cumulative score of anyone across the four signature competitions.
It all meant his latest Masters no-show was among the hardest to take with the 34-year-old taking a three-week break afterwards in order to rest and recharge.
This week has seen him get back on the horse/course at the Wells Fargo Championship.
IN THE ROUGH TIME
And addressing the media for the first time since Augusta, he acknowledged he badly needed that break out of the spotlight.
He said: “I needed a break for me. It was just more for my mental and emotional well-being.
“I just needed to be at home for those few weeks.”
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He added: “Obviously, after the disappointment of Augusta, and it’s been a pretty taxing 12 months mentally, it was nice to try to disconnect a little bit and get away from it.
“For me, it was a nice re-set, because I still had to realise that there are three more Majors this year.
“It’s nice to come back and feel refreshed. I think I’m in a better headspace than I was. So I’m excited to get going this week.”
