Rory McIlroy is making his final preparations ahead of this year’s Masters tournament, which gets underway on Thursday.
The Down native is seeking to become just the fourth golfer to successfully defend his Green Jacket after finally securing the grand prize last year.
McIlroy celebrated the 2025 title with his wife and daughter by his side at Augusta National, just months after it seemed like his marriage was ending.
The 36-year-old married Erica Stoll in 2017, with the couple having first met at the Ryder Cup in 2012.
However, in 2024, it was revealed that McIlroy had filed for divorce from his wife, with rumours quickly circulating.
Court documents filed in Palm Beach County stated that their marriage was ‘irretrievably broken’.
Just a few short weeks later, the pair had a change of heart, and the divorce was called off.
Ahead of this week’s Masters, their marriage has been brought back into the spotlight in a new book titled Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf’s Most Human Superstar, by author Alan Shipnuck.
The biography touches on several aspects of McIlroy’s life, from his rise to fame to his life off the golf course.
While looking at his relationships, Alan highlighted that Erica is almost like a ‘neo-Elin’, referring to the first wife of Tiger Woods, Elin Nordegren.
Back when the shock divorce was announced, rumours were flying about the possibility of an affair with journalist Amanda Balionis, after many believed she and McIlroy were flirting live on air. Neither Rory nor Erica ever admitted to any third-party involvement in their marriage woes.
Alan recalled in the book about when the golfer met Erica, while he was dating Caroline Wozniacki, after he claimed that he was running late because the time zones had confused him.
Alan revealed that this was not the reason, stating how one insider said: ‘He was throwing every ounce of game he had at Erica…It was not subtle. It became a running joke among a few of us: “Has Rory closed the deal yet?”‘
Group chats were full of ‘winking emojis’ and comments about how ‘smitten’ the golfer was in Erica’s company.
In 2013, McIlroy got engaged to Caroline, but this was soon called off.
Fast forward eleven years, and it appeared that another one of the golfer’s relationships was coming to an end, though Alan had his own say on what he thinks happened.
He wrote: ‘If you are an internationally famous athlete heading toward becoming a billionaire, it is probably unwise to file for divorce unless you are one million per cent certain there is zero chance to save the marriage…
‘But McIlroy’s life has been defined by impetuousness, on the golf course and in matters of business and romance.’
For the author, the cancellation of the divorce was all ‘part of the game’, and that McIlroy’s ‘recklessness is part of what makes him appealing’.
Erica and the couple’s daughter, Poppy, will likely be back in Georgia this weekend to cheer on McIlroy in the tournament.
