LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Rory McIlroy has filed for divorce after seven years of marriage, according to court records in Palm Beach County, Florida, in a surprising turn of events leading up to the PGA Championship.
McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll had a storybook meeting during the 2012 Ryder Cup, started dating two years later, and married in 2017. The two have one daughter, Poppy, who was born in September 2020.
TMZ first reported on the filing on Monday. No documents were readily available from the petition for dissolution of marriage.
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McIlroy's lawyer is Thomas Sasser, who represented Tiger Woods' wife during their divorce in 2010.
“Rory McIlroy's communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed. They emphasized Rory's desire to spend this difficult time as respectful and amicable as possible,” the manager said. Sean O'Flaherty said in a statement.
He said he had no further comment.
McIlroy arrived at Valhalla on Tuesday. It's been 10 years since he last won a major, winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2014. His pre-tournament press conference was scheduled for Wednesday.
McIlroy and Stoll met under unusual circumstances. She worked for the PGA of America during the Ryder Cup in the Chicago suburb of Medina in 2012, where McIlroy forgot he was in the Central time zone, so she missed Sunday's singles match. It is said that he almost missed the event.
Stoll arranged for a police escort to Medina, and McIlroy barely made it in time. He won his match against Keegan Bradley as Europe rallied for victory.
At the time, McIlroy was dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. They got engaged just a year later, but then McIlroy abruptly broke off the engagement over the phone.
He and Stoll began dating later that year. They got engaged in 2015.
McIlroy filed for divorce the day after he won his second straight PGA Tour title and 26th of his career at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. Asked if he planned to fly straight to Valhalla on Sunday night, McIlroy said, “I'll probably go home and reset and then head to Louisville tomorrow night or Tuesday morning.”
The divorce filing comes amid turmoil in the golf world caused by the launch of Saudi-funded LIV Golf. McIlroy has been a central figure for the past two years, harshly criticizing LIV, but has since changed his views and pushed for some form of unification.
He resigned from the PGA Tour board last November and was involved in plans to return to the board to replace Webb Simpson. This move was met with resistance from other player directors. Instead, McIlroy was appointed to a committee negotiating with the Saudi Public Investment Fund about the possibility of becoming a minority investor.
