05/14/24 01:38:00
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05/14 13:37 CDT Rory McIlroy files for divorce from his wife of 7 years ahead
of the PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy files for divorce from his wife of 7 years ahead of the PGA
Championship
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) --- Rory McIlroy has filed for divorce after seven years
of marriage, according to court records in Palm Beach County, Florida, a
stunning development going into the PGA Championship.
McIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll, had a storybook meeting during the Ryder Cup
in 2012, began dating two years later and were married in 2017. They have one
daughter, Poppy, born in September 2020.
TMZ first reported on the filing, which was made Monday.
The petition for divorce described the marriage as irretrievably broken and
asked that a prenuptial agreement signed about a month before their April 21,
2017, wedding be validated and enforced. The prenuptial agreement was sealed.
McIlroy's attorney was listed as Thomas Sasser, the same attorney who
represented Tiger Woods when his wife divorced him in 2010.
"Rory McIlroy's communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been
filed. They stressed Rory's desire to ensure this difficult time is as
respectful and amicable as possible," said a statement from his manager, Sean
O'Flaherty.
He said there would be no further comment.
McIlroy arrived at Valhalla on Tuesday. He has gone 10 years since winning a
major, the last one at Valhalla in 2014 for the PGA Championship. His
pre-tournament news conference was scheduled for Wednesday.
McIlroy and Stoll met under unusual circumstances. She worked for the PGA of
America in 2012 during the Ryder Cup at Medinah in the Chicago suburbs, where
McIlroy nearly missed his Sunday singles match because he said he forgot he was
in the Central time zone.
Stoll arranged for a police escort to Medinah, and McIlroy barely arrived in
time. He won his match over Keegan Bradley as Europe rallied to win.
McIlroy was dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki at the time. They were
engaged just over a year later, but then McIlroy abruptly broke it off over the
phone.
He and Stoll began dating later that year. They were engaged in 2015.
McIlroy filed for the divorce a day after he won the Wells Fargo Championship
in Charlotte, North Carolina, his second straight PGA Tour win and the 26th of
his career. Asked if he planned to go straight to Valhalla on Sunday night,
McIlroy said, "I'll probably go home and just sort of reset, then head up to
Louisville tomorrow night or Tuesday morning."
The divorce filing comes amid chaos in golf created by the launch of
Saudi-funded LIV Golf. McIlroy has been a central figure over the last two
years, harshly criticizing LIV and then changing his views and pushing for some
form of reunification.
He resigned from the PGA Tour board last November, then was involved in a plan
to rejoin the board by replacing Webb Simpson. That move was met by resistance
from other player directors. Instead, McIlroy was appointed to a committee that
is negotiating with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia over potentially
becoming a minority investor.
___
Associated Press Writer Terry Spencer in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to
this report.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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