Who is Rory McIlroy’s spouse Erica Stoll? Golf star declares divorce
- Rory McIlroy filed for a divorce just three days before the PGA Championship
- Erica Stoll met McIlroy during the Ryder Cup in 2012 while working for PGA
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
With the news of Rory McIlroy filing a divorce from his wife Erica Stoll taking the sporting world by storm, many questions surfaced about the golf star’s significant other along with the split.
On Tuesday, reports confirmed that McIlroy, 35, filed the documents on Monday, May 13 – just three days before the start of the PGA Championship. The filing also follows McIlroy’s win at the Wells Fargo Championship last weekend.
Here, DailyMail.com answers questions about Stoll, her life, and her relationship with the PGA Tour star.
A native of Irondequoit, New York, Stoll was an avid tennis player in high school. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, Stoll enrolled at the Rochester Institute of Technology after high school and earned her 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 2 very important people in my life. My wife Erica and Arnold Palmer share a birthday today. They never got to have the joint party they talked about having a few years ago.’
![PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy filed for a divorce from wife Erica Stoll on Monday, May 13](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/14/18/84862573-13417839-image-m-104_1715709222287.jpg)
PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy filed for a divorce from wife Erica Stoll on Monday, May 13
![Stoll met McIlroy during the 2012 Ryder Cup while working for the PGA as a transport official](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/14/18/84860791-13417839-image-m-99_1715709023123.jpg)
Stoll met McIlroy during the 2012 Ryder Cup while working for the PGA as a transport official
![McIlroy was dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki when he and Stoll first met](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/14/18/84860725-13417839-image-m-101_1715709035857.jpg)
McIlroy was dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki when he and Stoll first met
‘Arnold would have been 90 today and Erica is, well… much, much younger! They have both taught me so much and made me a better man. I cherished every moment I got to spend with Arnold and I cherish the life I get to spend with Erica. Happy Birthday guys!!’
After college, Stoll started working towards a career in golf and landed a job with the PGA.
Ahead of the Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Pittsford, just outside of Rochester, the PGA hired Stoll as an on-site office manager.
‘The way PGA employees present themselves is so admirable and professional,’ she 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 play the role of transport official for the tour. This new position also led to Stoll and McIlroy’s first meeting in 2012.
During the Ryder Cup that year, McIlroy overslept due to a time zone mix-up. Nearly missing his tee time, Stoll arranged a police escort for McIlroy to get him to the course in Medinah, Illinois.
![McIlroy and Stoll began dating in 2014 but kept their relationship under the radar](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/14/18/84862633-13417839-image-a-105_1715709297770.jpg)
McIlroy and Stoll began dating in 2014 but kept their relationship under the radar
![The pair got engaged in 2015, married in 2017 and welcomed their daughter in April 2020](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/14/18/84862575-13417839-image-a-103_1715709209650.jpg)
The pair got engaged in 2015, married in 2017 and welcomed their daughter in April 2020
‘Erica that week was always the one that was checking us in and out,’ McIlroy told the Golf Channel of their first meeting. ‘She was there at transportation, so she was always in the car park over 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 pretty cool.’
The pair shared a platonic relationship upon their initial meeting. A key factor was that McIlroy dated tennis star Caroline Wozniacki when they first met. McIlroy and Wozniacki got engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2013 but broke up a few months later.
Stoll and McIlroy started dating late in 2014 but kept their relationship low profile in the beginning. Six months into their new romance, McIlroy spoke to the Times of London about his relationship with Stoll.
‘I am very happy in my love life,’ he said. ‘We haven’t really been putting it out there. She is from America, which is why I like to spend time in Palm Beach. The past six or seven months have been really nice. That part of my life is going great.’
In December 2015, McIlroy and Stoll got engaged and married in April 2017. The pair 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 pair was married for seven years before news of the divorce surfaced](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/14/18/84862631-13417839-image-a-106_1715709304880.jpg)
The pair was married for seven years before news of the divorce surfaced
![McIlroy filed for the divorce just days before the start of the PGA Championship](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/14/18/84862603-13417839-image-a-107_1715709308882.jpg)
McIlroy filed for the divorce just days before the start of the PGA Championship
Just a month since their seventh wedding anniversary, McIlroy filed for a divorce in Florida. The reasons for the breakup remain a mystery.
Stoll has flown under the radar for most of their relationship, stirring clear of the media. Although she has an Instagram account, Stoll has kept her profile private with just 195 followers.
McIlroy talked about Stoll shying away from the spotlight after their engagement, telling the Irish Independent: ‘Erica has been around me quite a lot at tournaments but we have really just tried to keep it low-key.’
‘She is a very low-key person, not the kind to broadcast stuff, but that side of my life is really good just now,’ he continued. ‘We are excited, our parents are excited so it is a really happy time.’