At least Rory McIlroy was not alone in his misery after his stunning withdrawal midway through the second round of the Honda Classic on Friday. Golf’s No. 1 can always commiserate with his tennis star girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, who suffered a similarly shocking defeat some 48 hours earlier in the Malaysian Open.
Reuters called Wozniacki’s first-round loss to the 189th-ranked player in the world one of the worst of her career, while the golf world continued to wonder what the heck was going on with her curly-haired boyfriend and his new Nike clubs.
McIlroy, the defending Honda Classic champion, cited a painful wisdom tooth and lack of focus for his early and unexpected exit from PGA National after a miserable eight-plus holes that included a triple-bogey on the par-4 16th (he started his day on No. 10).
"I'm not in a great place mentally,” he told reporters from the parking lot before leaving the premises. “I can't really say much, guys. I'm just in a bad place mentally.''
Wozniacki offered her own health-related rationale for bowing out to a qualifier, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-1.
"I tried my best but I just didn't have energy. I didn't take my opportunities," Wozniacki, who had reportedly been battling a fever, told the Herald Sun. "I called for the doctor and the physio to massage my legs. Not much more they could do. I hope to come back again next year."
The formerly top-ranked 22-year-old began her week by telling The Score she and McIlroy, who have been an item for some time, had no plans to wed any time soon. She has repeatedly squelched rumors of a pending marriage after appearing in public in December with a lump of bling on her left ring finger.
“I think that question will be for him to answer,” Wozniacki said ahead of the Malaysian Open, in which she was the top seed. “I enjoy everything that’s happening right now and how things are. Marriage? We’re still young and we have many years in front of us.”
Sports’ power couple is winless in 2013. McIlroy’s WD followed a first-round loss in last week’s Match Play Championship, which came after the two-time major titleholder missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last month.
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