Fox news anchor Lisa 'Kennedy' Montgomery has admitted that she wanted to call Rory McIlroy "much worse" after describing him as a "leprechaun" live on air.

Montgomery made the remark off camera during a news piece about the golfer's ankle injury, which is likely to rule him out of The Open.

Instead of apologising for her comments, Montgomery explained that she isn't a "fan" of the Northern Irishman because of his decision to end his engagement to tennis player Caroline Wozniacki over the phone in May last year.

"Yesterday at this time I used the word 'leprechaun' to describe golfer Rory McIlroy," Montgomery said to camera. "I love sports, I love golf, but I am not a fan of Rory's.

"Mostly for the way he treated tennis great Caroline Wozniacki and discarded her like a piece of chewed gum when he broke her heart and broke off their engagement in a short phone conversation.

"That's worse than breaking up on a Post-it. Now to be clear, neither Harris nor Jenna Lee used the term and I don't want them to get the credit for it. I called Rory McIlroy a leprechaun and believe me I wanted to call him much worse. As you know, some of my best friends are leprechauns and they also have tremendous sense of humour. Thank you."

The world number one golfer could be sidelined for three months after he injured his ankle while playing football.