With the news that Rory McIlroy has filed for divorce from his wife Erica Stoll sweeping the sports world, many questions about the golf star’s relationship have arisen along with the split.
On Tuesday, reports confirmed that McIlroy, 35, filed the paperwork on Monday, May 13, just three days before the start of the PGA Championship. The performance also follows McIlroy’s victory at the Wells Fargo Championship last weekend.
Here, DailyMail.com answers questions about Stoll, his life and his relationship with the PGA Tour star.
Originally from Irondequoit, New York, Stoll was an avid tennis player in high school. According to the Democrat and chronicleStoll enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology after high school and earned his degree in marketing in 2008.
Born on September 10, Stoll shares a birthday with golf legend Arnold Palmer. McIlroy previously acknowledged the shared birthday with an Instagram post in 2019, writing: ‘September 10th… a special day for two very important people in my life. My wife Erica and Arnold Palmer share a birthday today. They never got to celebrate the joint party they were talking about a few years ago.
PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy filed for divorce from his wife Erica Stoll on Monday, May 13.
Stoll met McIlroy during the 2012 Ryder Cup while working for the PGA as a transportation officer.
McIlroy was dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki when he and Stoll met.
‘Arnold would have turned 90 today and Erica is, well… much, much younger! They have both taught me a lot and made me a better man. I cherish every moment I spent with Arnold and I cherish the life I spent with Erica. Happy birthday guys!!’
After college, Stoll began working on a career in golf and landed a job with the PGA.
Before the Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Pittsford, outside Rochester, the PGA hired Stoll as the on-site office manager.
“The way PGA employees present themselves is admirable and professional,” he told the Democrat and Chronicle in 2008. “That’s the kind of job I want and it’s doing something I love.”
Stoll’s tenure with the PGA eventually led her to the role of transportation officer for the tour. This new position also led to Stoll and McIlroy’s first meeting in 2012.
During that year’s Ryder Cup, McIlroy fell asleep due to a time zone mix-up. Nearly missing his tee time, Stoll arranged for a police escort for McIlroy to take him to the field in Medinah, Illinois.
McIlroy and Stoll began dating in 2014, but kept their relationship under the radar.
The couple got engaged in 2015, married in 2017, and welcomed their daughter in April 2020.
“Erica that week was always the one who clocked us in and out,” McIlroy told the Golf Channel of their first meeting. “She was there on transportation, so she was always in the parking lot there.”
‘But yeah, it’s still cool to look around and think about that week and obviously everything that’s happened since then. It’s cool.’
The couple shared a platonic relationship since their initial meeting. A key factor was that McIlroy dated tennis star Caroline Wozniacki when they met. McIlroy and Wozniacki got engaged on New Year’s Eve 2013, but broke up a few months later.
Stoll and McIlroy began dating in late 2014, but kept their relationship low profile at first. Six months after their new romance, McIlroy spoke to the London Times about his relationship with Stoll.
“I’m very happy in my love life,” she said. ‘We haven’t really published it. She is from the United States, so I like to spend time in Palm Beach. The last six or seven months have been really nice. That part of my life is going very well.’
In December 2015, McIlroy and Stoll became engaged and married in April 2017. The couple tied the knot during a ceremony at Ashford Castle in Ireland.
Stoll and McIlroy welcomed their daughter, Poppy Kennedy, on August 31, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida.
The couple was married for seven years before news of the divorce emerged.
McIlroy filed for divorce just days before the start of the PGA Championship
Just one month into their seventh wedding anniversary, McIlroy filed for divorce in Florida. The reasons for the breakup remain a mystery.
Stoll has flown under the radar for most of their relationship, staying away from the media. Although she has a instagram accountStoll has kept his profile private with only 195 followers.
McIlroy spoke about Stoll stepping away from the spotlight after their engagement, telling the Irish independent: “Erica has been with me quite a bit at tournaments, but we’ve really tried to keep a low profile.”
“She’s a very low-key person, not the type to broadcast things, but that side of my life is really good right now,” he continued. “We’re excited, our parents are excited, so it’s a really happy moment.”
