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9-year-old Rory in letter to Tiger Woods: 'I'm coming to get you'

Tiger Woods can't say Rory McIlroy didn't warn him.

When the current world No. 1 was 9 years old in 1998, McIlroy penned a letter intended for Woods that put the then-one-time major winner on notice.

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What did the letter say? Paraphrasing to the New York Times Magazine, McIlroy's uncle, Brian, said it read: “I’m coming to get you. This is the beginning. Watch this space.”

McIlroy had just won the prestigious Doral-Publix Junior Golf Classic – a sign that the Ulsterman might have a distinguished future in the game. So he had plenty of reason to be confident, but writing that letter to the world's best golfer took some gall. 

There's a good chance Woods never even saw the letter, though the Times didn't try to find out the fate of the letter from Team Tiger. Flash forward 17 years, and the two are both Nike staffers and friends. Maybe that's why McIlroy was reluctant to own up to writing that letter. 

Asked about the accuracy of his uncle's recollection of the letter, McIlroy shyly said, “A lot of those memories have kind of blurred together. But, yeah, it went something like that.”

A Masters title would be the next step for McIlroy on the path to matching Woods' career. The 25-year-old would complete the career Grand Slam, becoming just the sixth man to accomplish the feat. It would also set up McIlroy for an opportunity to hold all four majors simultaneously were he to win the U.S. Open in June.

It wouldn't be a Tiger Slam so much as a McIlslam (or Rory Slam).


Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.