Tiger Woods 4 a.m. texts to Rory McIlroy, explained: How golfer’s wife got upset with late-night interruptions originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
There is a void at the Masters with Tiger Woods away from golf in the wake of a DUI arrest and an injury-ravaged year, but Rory McIlroy is helping to replace that star power.
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All eyes are on McIlroy’s pursuit of a second consecutive green jacket, which would make him the first back-to-back Masters champion since Woods in 2001 and 2002.
McIlroy and Woods are longtime friends, and their relationship got close enough at one point that it rubbed McIlroy’s wife the wrong way.
Here’s a closer look at the connection between McIlroy and Woods.
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Tiger Woods 4 a.m. texts to Rory McIlroy
A new book, “Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf’s Most Human Superstar,” claims Woods at one point had a tendency to send 4 a.m. texts to McIlroy while he was having trouble sleeping.
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The book claims Woods would be up late at night working out and try to talk to McIlroy, to the point that McIlroy’s wife became frustrated.
“He’d be texting me at four o’clock in the morning: ‘Up lifting. What are you doing?’ Erica actually got p—-d off with it,” McIlroy said, according to the book. “He was texting me in the middle of the night, and I was like, ‘Tiger is in the gym.'”
Despite the odd timing from Woods, he and McIlroy became closer in the years that followed and remain close today.
MORE:How Rory McIlroy’s dominant start to Masters made history
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Who is Rory McIlroy’s wife?
McIlroy has been married to Erica Stoll since early 2017. The two welcomed a daughter in 2020.
Stoll, a former PGA of America office manager who met McIlroy through her job, ran into issues with the star golfer in 2024. After McIlroy filed for divorce in early 2024, the two reconnected in the middle of the year and announced they would remain married. Stoll was recently seen with McIlroy at the Par 3 Contest ahead of the Masters.
MORE:Meet Rory McIlroy’s caddie and childhood friend
What is the new book about Rory McIlroy?
Author Alan Shipnuck has written numerous books about professional golf, and his newest, published on March 31, 2026, centers on McIlroy in the wake of the golfer’s return to glory at the 2025 Masters: “Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf’s Most Human Superstar.”
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While the Masters win is part of McIlroy’s story, the book dives into the personality and humanity behind the career grand slam winner, whose willingness to wear his emotions on his sleeve has made him a fan favorite.
“With reporting chops honed across thirty years on the golf beat, Shipnuck traces McIlroy’s evolution from a young phenom in Northern Ireland to a game-changing force on and off the golf course. Shipnuck has shadowed McIlroy throughout his career, and he brings to life all the heartbreaks and triumphs with thrilling immediacy and unparalleled access. Tabloid romance, bitter business disputes, divisive politicking—it is all part of this portrait of a man in full,” the Amazon summary of the book says.
As indicated by the story about Woods’ 4 a.m. texts to McIlroy, the book also touches on McIlroy’s relationship with other golfers and his own relationship with his wife.
MORE:Inside the exclusive club of back-to-back Masters winners
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Rory McIlroy on relationship with Tiger Woods
McIlroy and Woods have long had a relationship as prominent golfers, but they have grown closer in recent years, by all accounts. McIlroy frequently visited Woods after Woods’ severe car accident in 2021, and the two co-founded indoor golf league TGL in 2022 with an inaugural season in 2025.
“I’m drawn to him, yeah,” McIlroy said of Woods in 2022, according to the book. “He’s an intriguing character because you could spend two hours in his company and see four different sides to him. He’s thoughtful. He’s smart.”
Despite Woods’ personal battles, he has maintained a friendship with McIlroy, and McIlroy could join him in the history books as a back-to-back Masters champion.
MORE:What to know about Rory McIlroy’s Northern Ireland roots
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