US Open golf champion Rory McIlroy finally went public about his relationship with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, saying he was pleased to find someone "who sort of understands what you are going through."
McIlroy, golf's hottest property following his emphatic victory at Congressional Country Club in June, attended the New Haven Open on Thursday to support Wozniacki, the women's No. 1 ranked player, who he confirmed to reporters was his girlfriend.
The Northern Irishman, 22, was rumored to have begun dating the 21-year-old Danish star last month.
He said Thursday the burgeoning romance was helped by their shared understanding of the trappings and pressures of their statuses as young sporting superstars.
"I think why we get along so well is because we have so much in common," McIlroy said as he took part in a sponsored treadmill run for the tournament's cancer charity, the Republican American reported.
"Obviously, it is in different sports, but we are pretty much at the same position at a young age," he added. "We can talk about things that probably a lot of 21, 22 year olds can't talk about."
Wozniacki moved into the semi-finals at New Haven on Thursday with an avenging 7-5 6-3 victory over rising American Christina McHale, who had dumped the Dane out of the Cincinnati Masters last week.
While victory in Connecticut will further protect her ranking spot, after flunking in the four majors to date, Wozniacki's place at the top of the sport will still be questioned by some until she lifts her first grand slam.
McIlroy faced similar doubters following his final-round collapse at Augusta in April but silenced them two months later with his emphatic US Open win.
Although only fifth in the world rankings, the victory effectively elevated him above his Ryder Cup teammates Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, who top golf's ranking spots despite neither Englishman lifting a major yet.
McIlroy, meanwhile, said his right forearm is feeling 80 to 85 percent healthy after an injury at the recent PGA Championship.
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