Rory McIlroy Recalls '17 Lunch with Tiger Woods: 'His Mind Wasn't Even on Golf'

Rory McIlroy offered a peek into the mind of Tiger Woods when Woods was struggling to return to golf amid persistent back trouble.

"All he was thinking about was quality of life, watching his kids grow up, being able to play soccer in the backyard," McIlroy said Wednesday of a lunch he enjoyed with Woods in March 2017, per GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard. "His mind wasn't even on golf, which sort of told me he's sort of thinking about this could be it."

Woods made just one PGA Tour appearance during the 2017 season, missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. In April 2017, he underwent what was the fourth surgery on his back.

During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show in August 2018, Nick Faldo went a step further than McIlroy. Faldo recounted a conversation he had with another golfer who said Woods indicated he thought he was done with golf altogether because of the constant pain he battled.

Of course, Woods continued working toward his comeback, completing his journey at the 2019 Masters. The 43-year-old won his fifth green jacket and his 15th overall major tournament, putting him three behind Jack Nicklaus for a share of the all-time record.

McIlroy doesn't think this is the end for Woods, telling reporters, "Tiger could be competitive at Augusta for the next 10 years if his body holds up."