Rory McIlroy pays heartfelt tribute to his idol Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods might be about to call it quits on his career.

The iconic golfer is trying to recover from a back injury, but hinted in a horribly depressing press conference this week that he may be forced to retire. Woods has not hit a ball on the professional tour since his last appearance at the Wyndham event in August and is currently recovering from a third operation on the persistent injury. He told press that he was taking his recovery day-by-day and since the last procedure, he has only been mowtly walking and playing video games. Rory McIlroy has responded to the Woods retirement discussions by reaching out to him on Instagram. The Hollywood native wished his idol a "speedy recovery" and admitted that the sport without Woods "doesn't bear thinking about".

Wishing my idol and friend a speedy recovery. Golf without him doesn't bear thinking about. Hope to see you back on the course soon @tigerwoods

A photo posted by Rory McIlroy (@rorymcilroy) on Dec 1, 2015 at 2:03pm PST