NEWPORT — The Ryder Cup is getting personal for Tiger Woods. Interrupting an otherwise dull news conference Tuesday, Woods fired back at a comment Rory McIlroy made six weeks ago that “I would love to face” the world’s No. 1 player in the Ryder Cup unless his game rapidly improved. Asked for a reaction, Woods leaned into the microphone and said only: “Me, too.” The quote from McIlroy — the closest thing to bulletin board material at Celtic Manor — came the week after Woods’ golf reached a low point in a dismal season. He had the highest score of his career and beat only one player in the 80-man field at Firestone.vMcIlroy was not worried that he had given Woods or the U.S. team any more motivation. “I’m fine. I’m all right,” said the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland. “You’ve got to realize, I said those things the week after he had just shot 18-over at Akron, so he wasn’t playing too well at the time.”
Woods was aware of the comment before arriving in Wales. “At least Rory said, ’Unless my game improves,”’ Woods said in Chicago two weeks ago.