Lifestyle
Rory McIlroy’s divorce U-turn, Tiger Woods’ porn star mistresses and the $1 million Phil Mickelson had to give back… what happens on the course when golfers personal lives spiral as the US Open approaches
It’s been just under a month since it was announced that Rory McIlroy had filed for divorce from his wife Erica Stoll after seven years of marriage.
The 35-year-old has continued to turn out on the PGA Tour following that announcement, though there are some reports that claim the Northern Irishman has been ‘trying to find himself‘.
The news of their split dropped on the eve of the PGA Championship and ironically, it was revealed on Tuesday that the pair have reconciled – just days before he tees it up at the third major of the year, the US Open.
In a shock U-turn, McIlroy told Dailymail.com that he and Stoll had realised their future would be better together. ‘There have been rumours about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumour is a fool’s game,’ he said.
‘Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together.
‘Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.’
McIlroy, a traditionalist in the game of golf, carried the fight against LIV Golf when the Saudi-backed breakaway league started to gather momentum and began to pose a threat to the PGA Tour. His spats with LIV CEO Greg Norman were particularly explosive and perhaps distracting – so much so that McIlroy’s form may have seemingly taken a hit.
‘I’d love to get back to being a golfer,’ McIlroy said following the Players Championship in 2023.
He added, reflecting on the civil war that has engulfed the sport: ‘It’s been a busy couple of weeks, and it’s been — honestly it’s been a busy sort of six or eight months.’
McIlroy gave up his role on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board in November, citing that the position was ‘not what he had signed up for’ and added: ‘The game of professional golf has been in flux for the last two years.’
McIlroy, a traditionalist in the game of golf, carried the fight against LIV Golf when the Saudi-backed breakaway league started to gather momentum and began to pose a threat to the PGA Tour. His spats with LIV CEO Greg Norman were particularly explosive and perhaps distracting – so much so that McIlroy’s form may have seemingly taken a hit.
‘I’d love to get back to being a golfer,’ McIlroy said following the Players Championship in 2023.
He added, reflecting on the civil war that has engulfed the sport: ‘It’s been a busy couple of weeks, and it’s been — honestly it’s been a busy sort of six or eight months.’
McIlroy gave up his role on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board in November, citing that the position was ‘not what he had signed up for’ and added: ‘The game of professional golf has been in flux for the last two years.’
But McIlroy is a resilient character, and while rumours have swirled around recent issues in his personal life, he can now put those to bed and focus on playing golf.
It is inevitable that he will one day end his wait for a fifth major. On his day, the 35-year-old is the best ball striker on the PGA Tour and his experience, having won four major championships before will always count in his favour.
Interestingly though, in the three months following his split from ex-fiance Caroline Wozniacki in 2014, McIlroy clinched four PGA Tour titles and two major championships – the US Open and the PGA Championship. Prior to that he had only won six times on the tour and had clinched only one major.
It appears he has been kicking into form in the past few months too.
The four-time major winner has, in recent months, seemingly gathered some momentum, following a sluggish start to the season, where he failed to break into the top-10 during his first five events on the PGA Tour – despite clinching victory on the DP World Tour at the Dubai Desert Classic in January.
Back-to-back victories at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans and the Wells Fargo Championship in April and May seemed to kick-start some good form for McIlroy, who has since finished T12, T4 and T15 in his last three events.
The Northern Irishman will come into the US Open this week fancying his chances, particularly having won this tournament before.
But he is not the only golfer to have had to battle through personal issues while competing on the PGA Tour. Several professionals and greats of the game have shown that you can still win amid personal problems off the course – but sometimes it doesn’t always quite end well.
