World number two recalls constantly repeating the words "Good Shot, good shot, good shot" throughout the round
McIlroy recalls his first pairing with Woods as Tiger eyes PGA record
1.
(SOUNDBITE)(English) RORY MCILROY SAYING "The first time I played with Tiger, I've never said 'good shot' as much as in my life playing with anyone.
It was just 'good shot, good shot, good shot, but that was because he was consistently hitting good shots.
He shot six under par and I felt pretty nervous going out.
Pretty nervous for the first few holes and then I settled in.
I think inevitable you compare yourself to him and what you've just seen and 'He's better than me there and I can definitely hang with him there and I need to do better at this.
For me any time you have the opportunity to play with him it's a learning experience.
Just seeing what he does and how he does it.
We had a TaylorMade photo shoot in Florida a couple of months ago and he was explaining to me how he plays these low spinning chips that he plays.
Just even those little nuggets and I'm there going 'Oh yeah he covered it with his right shoulder and I'm sort of trying to do the same thing so there's always stuff you can pick-up." 2.
WHITE FLASH 3.
(SOUNDBITE)(English) RORY MCILROY SAYING "If you look at when I first came out on tour and started winning majors nearly a decade ago, eight years ago, you could probably count on one hand players who played a similar game to the way I played and it was part of the reason I played so well in that stretch and now the likes of a Matt Wolf grew up watching players like Tiger a little and myself and Dustin.
So where I used to get to the golf course and think, okay, maybe five or 10 people have a chance, nowadays it's 40, 50, 60 guys that play that sort of game.
I think that's going to be the biggest challenge going forward over the next 10 years.
There's always fresh blood coming through and new talent.
Trying to keep up with them is the big challenge going forward." STORY: Rory Mcllroy playfully told reporters on Wednesday (January 22) that he never said "good shot" to a fellow golfer more than when he played Tiger Woods for the first time.
McIlroy said it took a while for him to lose his nervousness.
The Northern Irishman, who will make his season debut at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego on Thursday, said that anytime you play with Woods it's a learning experience.
Woods is in the spotlight this week as he makes his first attempt at surpassing Sam Snead's amazing 82 wins for the most all-time PGA Tour victories.
World number two McIlroy can retake the top position from Brooks Koepka with a win at the tournament this week.
McIlroy last held the position in September 2015 but said the field is only getting tougher.
"If you look at when I first came out on tour and started winning majors nearly a decade ago, eight years ago, you could probably count on one hand players who played a similar game to the way I played and it was part of the reason I played so well in that stretch and now the likes of a Matt Wolf grew up watching players like Tiger a little and myself and Dustin.
So where I used to get to the golf course and think, okay, maybe five or 10 people have a chance, nowadays it's 40, 50, 60 guys that play that sort of game.
I think that's going to be the biggest challenge going forward over the next 10 years.
There's always fresh blood coming through and new talent.
Trying to keep up with them is the big challenge going forward." (Production: Peter Bullock)