Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods share a complex relationship that stretches back to when the Northern Irishman first appeared on the PGA Tour. The 36-year-old is competing in the Genesis Invitational this week, an event organised by Woods' TGR Foundation, with speculation suggesting the American may present the trophy.

By the time McIlroy turned professional, Woods had already secured 13 major championship victories - including the career Grand Slam. The 36-year-old had claimed the US Open before mounting another major challenge in 2012.

Following his PGA Championship triumph that year, McIlroy acknowledged he'd grown up idolising the American and harboured ambitions of rivalling the legend. He even quipped that Woods was 'intimidated' by him.

McIlroy said: "He's (Tiger's) got a new nickname for me, actually. He calls me The Intimidator."

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He quickly clarified the alias wasn't his invention, adding: "No. How can I intimidate Tiger Woods? I mean, the guy's got 75 or whatever PGA Tour wins, 14 majors.

"He's been the biggest thing ever in our sport. How could some little 23-year-old from Northern Ireland with a few wins come up and intimidate him. It's just not possible. I don't know where he got that from, but it's not true."

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It seems that Woods was simply attempting to unsettle his opponent at the time with some reverse psychology. Six years later, the American goaded his rivals by declaring it was "their f****** issue" if they were affected by him on the fairways.

In 2018, he can be heard in a video saying: "I can't control you. The only thing I can control is me. If you get intimidated, that's your own f***ing issue."

It appears the Woods-McIlroy rivalry evolved into a strong friendship that included healthy competition. Following the Northern Irishman's 2024 US Open defeat, the 50-year-old admitted he contacted the golfer to provide his support.

Woods said: "[I texted him] just basically, as you know, I'm your friend. I know this is a difficult moment. We've all been there as champions.

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"We all lose. Unfortunately, it just happened and the raw emotion of it, it's still there and it's going to be there for, I'm sure, some time.

"The faster he's able to get back on a horse and get back into contention, like he did last week [in the Scottish Open], the better it is for him."

Praising McIlroy, he added: "He's got such a wonderful talent and he's a good kid too. He's got a lot of things going for him."

In fact, Woods respects McIlroy so much that he encouraged his sonCharlie to emulate the Masters champion's golf swing rather than his own.

Despite being a 15-time major tournament victor, the American insisted that he would prefer his amateur golfer son to learn from the 36-year-old.He said: "I told [Charlie], 'Don't copy my swing. Copy Rory's'."

Woods added: "Have you ever seen Rory off balance in a shot? Not ever.

"That's one of the things my dad instilled in me, is that you should be able to balance and hold your finish until the ball rolls and stops. You can swing as hard as you want, but you need to have balance."