Rory McIlroy is not getting any sympathy from Tiger Woods.
Woods one-upped McIlroy when asked about the No. 1 player's relatively quick return to compete in the PGA Championship after hurting his ankle playing soccer on July 4, SB Nation reported.
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Asked whether Woods was surprised by McIlroy's return, Woods responded, "No, not really. He has good physios; he's worked hard. It's a matter of how long is he going to have to go with it like this or is he going to have to get it surgically repaired."
The world's former No. 1 golfer (now No. 278) added that he played on a severely injured knee -- and he still managed to win the 2008 U.S. Open.
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"I blew out my knee and played for a good nine months before I had it fixed," Woods said. "So it can be done. Is he probably going to be in pain? Probably, yeah. Swelling is going to probably occur, but that's why the physios are there, and I'm sure they'll get him organized.
"As far as his talent and his ability to play golf, that's not going to be a problem. He understands how to play," Woods added. "It's a matter of physically can he do it?"
McIlroy, who posted photos of his injured ankle on Instagram, was forced to withdraw from both the British Open and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational -- where he was the defending champion at each event.
Woods can be forgiven for dismissing McIlroy's misfortune; he's still is trying to find his game after coming back from a back injury in 2014.
"I'm just trying to get up there where I can win tournaments, get my game organized so I can be consistent on a tournament basis, where I'm going to give myself a chance to win each and every event I play in," Woods told Reuters.
Both analysts and fans have weighed in on the condition of Woods' game, which he says he's taken in stride.
"I've relied on friends and family and people that I trust and are close to me," he explained. "As far as anything outside of that, they speak from a perspective that may not be mine, what I'm going through."
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