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Rory McIlroy Recalls '17 Lunch with Tiger Woods: 'His Mind Wasn't Even on Golf'

Rory McIlroy offered a peek into the mind of Tiger Woods when Woods was struggling to return to golf amid persistent back trouble.

"All he was thinking about was quality of life, watching his kids grow up, being able to play soccer in the backyard," McIlroy said Wednesday of a lunch he enjoyed with Woods in March 2017, per GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard. "His mind wasn't even on golf, which sort of told me he's sort of thinking about this could be it."

Woods made just one PGA Tour appearance during the 2017 season, missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.