Rory McIlroy breaks his silence after filing shock divorce from wife Erica Stoll ahead of 2024 PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy has broken his silence following the explosive announcement of his divorce from wife Erica Stoll.
The PGA Tour star, 35, filed for divorce from the American, also 35, after seven years of marriage on Monday – three days before the start of the PGA Championship.
The Northern Irishman confirmed the split in a brief statement through his team on Tuesday.
“Rory McIlroy’s communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed,” Sean O’Flaherty, McIlroy’s manager, said in a statement. “They highlighted Rory’s desire to make this difficult time as respectful and friendly as possible.”
He added that there would be no further comment.
Rory McIlroy breaks his silence after explosive divorce announcement from Erica Stoll
The PGA Tour star, 35, filed for divorce from Erica, also 35, after seven years of marriage
The Northern Irishman and Stoll married in 2017 (2023 Ryder Cup photo)
The couple share a daughter Poppy, aged three, born in 2020 (Erica and Poppy pictured in 2021)
McIlroy was due to address the media at 9am ET/2pm BST on Wednesday in Valhalla, but his press conference has now been pushed back to 3pm ET/8pm BST.
Court documents filed in Palm Beach County and obtained by DailyMail.com indicated their marriage was “irretrievably broken.”
The couple, who welcomed daughter Poppy Kennedy in 2020, married in 2017 after a fairytale encounter at the 2012 Ryder Cup.
McIlroy, whose career earnings total nearly $87 million, first met Erica at the Illinois tournament when she was working for the PGA.
Stoll, a New York state native, helped McIlroy get off to a start in Medinah after alarm issues and ultimately defeated Keegan Bradley in his match.
Although they initially met at the Ryder Cup that year, it wasn’t until a few years later that the two formed a relationship.
Months after calling off his engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014, McIlroy and Stoll reunited before getting engaged a year later.
The four-time major champion and Stoll kept their relationship largely private before tying the knot in a lavish ceremony in Ireland in 2017.
The couple exchanged vows at Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Ireland, in front of celebrity guests including One Direction star Niall Horan and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, while music icons Ed Sheeran and Stevie Wonder performed at the event.
Erica was on McIlroy’s bag for the Masters Par-3 event with their daughter Poppy in 2023
McIlroy and Stoll reunited after his split from Caroline Wozniacki in 2014
The divorce filing states that the couple had signed a prenuptial agreement. However, details of the deal were not disclosed.
McIlroy’s lawyer was Thomas Sasser, the same lawyer who represented Tiger Woods when his wife divorced him in 2010.
The filing also requests shared custody and the establishment of a parenting plan for Poppy.
They are believed to have been living in a 12,800 square foot mansion, worth $9.5 million, in the golf capital of Jupiter, Florida, which is home to many of the tour’s professional golfers.
Erica has regularly been seen supporting her PGA hubby at his tournaments, including the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, where she wowed in a stunning strapless black dress in the Spanish Steps.
She was also on McIlroy’s bag for the Masters Par-3 competition with their daughter Poppy in 2023. However, the McIlroy family was notably absent from the traditional annual event.
Erica grew up in New York and graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in marketing in 2008. She later worked for the Professional Golf Association of America.
She was seen at The Players in March when the PGA Tour shared a heartwarming clip of her and Poppy greeting McIlroy on the 18th green. The golfer was seen taking his daughter in for a hug, with Erica telling him they watched his birdie-birdie finish.
McIlroy infamously split from tennis star Wozniacki in 2014, just months before their wedding.
The golfer reportedly dumped his then-fiancée after a three-minute phone call hours after telling her he loved her. Their separation took place in May 2014, before their planned wedding in November.
McIlroy’s split from Wozniacki came days before the BMW PGA Championship in England, which he won. At the same event the previous year, he tied for 96th place.
McIlroy split from tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014, months before their wedding.
He also had two major championship victories that year, the Open at Royal Liverpool in July and the PGA Championship in August at Valhalla – the same course as the same tournament this week.
It’s an eerily similar pattern for the golfer. McIlroy filed for divorce a day after winning his second consecutive PGA Tour victory in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the 26th of his career.
Asked if he plans to go 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.”
Two weeks before, he had won another trophy for his firm, winning the Zurich Classic alongside his friend and Ryder Cup teammate, Ireland’s Shane Lowry.
