The stories are rarely rare around Rory McILroy, in particular the time of the masters, and this week was no exception.
The themes of recent days have been numerous and diverse. The Northern Irishman has solved a problem much examined in his swing. He improved his short match. He arrived in Augusta National as a formal man, after having banged two titles in the approach of the major opening of the season. And, as always since his merger of legendary masters of 2011, when he blew up a lead of four strokes in the last round, he aims to finish a big slam in career.
Whatever McILroy dried up, however, one of the most established stories is, paradoxically, which begins. And if the often repeated maxim of Arnold Palmer that the most important six inch are between the ears are true, it may be the key to McILroy putting on the green jacket on Sunday afternoon.
Twelve months ago, the 35 -year -old man hunted Magnolia Lane with a lot in mind. Fight an invisible battle to reconcile the requirements of life as a professional golfer with his responsibilities as a husband and father, he spoke before the tournament of the need to bring a little normality in what I try to do “and stressed the importance of” being in the right state of mind “.
Subsequent events have brought the full importance of these words. McILroy finished the tournament in 22nd spouse and, a month later, asked for the divorce of Erica Stoll, his seven -year -old wife and his daughter’s mother, Poppy.
He seemed to point out the end of a relationship that started in 2014, when Stoll was still working as manager of championship volunteer operations for the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. But a month later, with the world of golf still in shock from the news of the split, came an equally unexpected turn because it appeared that the couple had reconciled their differences, the petition of divorce voluntarily rejected.
Rory McILroy and his wife Erica shared a joke during the traditional increase in Masters parish curtains in Augusta National on Wednesday. McILroy will open his title challenge Thursday
The couple poses with their four -year -old Poppy daughter, who seduced the spectators by pouring a 25 -foot putt on the last hole of the Augusta national course during the family event
Erica smiled then that McILroy cradles his daughter in Augusta. The couple seemed to be on the verge of divorce last May when McILroy filed a divorce petition in Florida, but they quickly reconciled
“Responding to each rumor is a crazy game,” said McILroy last summer, venturing a rare public comment on the tumult of his private life.
“In the past few weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together. Fortunately, we have resolved our differences and we look forward to a new start.
This new start seems to be durable. We talked a lot about the sorrows spent this week, a lot of chatter on mental demons and scar tissues and near shortcomings as the man of Holywood, in the county down, seeks to rest the ghosts of past masters. However, the McILroy which has extended for the traditional rise in Wednesday shitty curtains, its sparkling wedding ring in the sun, cut a serene silhouette.
Accompanied by Stoll, 37, and his four -year -old Poppy daughter, who stole the show by flowing a 25 -foot putt on the last hole, the 35 -year -old looked and sounded with each thumb man.
“We expect nine months from the last major, so finishing your preparations with such a fun afternoon is great,” said McILroy. “If you are not ready now, you have no chance. Let’s go, let’s get home, let’s get out and rest for Thursday.
Do not underestimate the power of this state of mind. The pleasure is perhaps the last word that comes to my mind when you consider the pressures involved to try to claim one of the most prestigious prices of sport. However, as McILroy has recognized it for a long time, a clear head and a stable private life are the foundations of success within the strings.
McILroy is seen Tuesday during a training session. In 2011, he blew up a lead in the last round of the Masters, where he was looking for a big, elusive career
The McILroy pose for a photo last November in Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. They are seen alongside the DP World Tour Championship trophy and the Race to Dubai trophy
“I met someone again,” McILroy told Times in 2015, approaching the importance of his relationship with Stoll. “She does not play golf, but it is involved in the golf course. I have known her for three years and we are good friends.
“If everything is good for golf, it also allows you to be better on it.”
Famous, Stoll’s precious influence on McILroy’s career preceded their emergence as a couple. When a mixture of time zone at the Ryder Cup 2012 in the suburbs of the Illinois of Medinah was sleeping from McILroy, Stoll came to the rescue by organizing a police escort. McILroy arrived with 10 minutes to waste until his time, but beat Keegan Bradley, helping Europe to a historic return victory that would be known as the Miracle of Medinah.
“Erica this week has always been the one who checked and out of us,” recalls McILroy later. “It’s always cool to look around and think about this week, and obviously everything that has happened since.”
These events included a high -level split of Caroline Wozniacki, the former world tennis player n ° 1, to whom McILroy signed the following year to break the relationship five months later.
“The problem is mine,” he said at the time. “The wedding invitations issued on weekends made me realize that I was not ready for all that marriage implies.
McILroy discusses with his shopping cart, Harry Diamond, before a training session in Augusta on Wednesday. With title champion Scottie Scheffler, he is a favorite for the title
Erica first believed with McILroy at the Ryder Cup 2012 in Medinah, Illinois, where the Northern Irishman almost missed his TEE time after sleep due to a mixture of time zone
McILroy and his daughter Poppy are thinking about the position of a ball at the Augusta National Golf Club
“I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves and thank her for the good times we had. I will say nothing more about our relationship in any context.
McILroy started to go out with Stoll at the end of 2014, the couple initially adopted a low profile.
“I am very happy in my love life,” he said the following summer. “We didn’t really put it there. She comes from America, that’s why I like to spend time in Palm Beach.
“The last six or seven months have been really nice. This part of my life is fine.
He proposed in Paris later the same year, and in April 2017, the couple got married at the Château d’Ashford in the county of Mayo, Ireland, where Ed Sheeran and Stevie Wonder would have delivered live performances.
But Stoll resolutely avoided the spotlight, even keeping her pregnancy under the Wraps until the third trimester, and remained a crucial source of calm and stability throughout the relationship.
“For me, Erica brings such a level of normality to everything,” said McILroy at the start of their relationship. “It has a soothing presence, a serenity, and it is not only for me; It is noticeable in any business. She never wants to be the center of attention and is always very comfortable in the background.
“She had a great influence on me and gave such a big balance to my life – between whom I am when people see me here, and who I am at home.
While McILroy goes in search of a first title of Masters this weekend with turbulence in his private life firmly behind him, he hopes that a new start will be able to produce a new end.
