EYES streaming with tears, Rory McIlroy headed straight to his wife Erica and daughter Poppy for an emotion-charged embrace on the Augusta course.
had just carved out his place in sporting immortality after
His voice quavering, the 35-year-old, revealed: “To finally get this done, and to do it with Erica and Poppy here, it means the world.”;
For Erica, looking chic in white sun hat and matching outfit, those words would have had deep-felt resonance.
Just 11 months ago, McIlroy had filed for saying that their was “irretrievably broken”;.
Legal papers were served on her at their £10million mansion in , on May 13 last year asking for shared parental custody of their little girl.
The petition also called for a judge to enforce a prenuptial agreement signed before their 2017 marriage.
legal move came after he was seen flirting with TV presenter Amanda Balionis — recently split from her husband — on camera.
A day before McIlroy announced his divorce, Camille Stroud, a friend of Amanda’s, wrote “You two”; beneath an picture of Balionis interviewing him, adding a heart emoji.
Plus, McIlroy endorsed the presenter’s dog .
At the time, a friend of McIlroy’s said: “I think people would know if he had been having a fling with a fairly well-known golf TV presenter. There were rumours, but they were pure gossip.”;
Then, a month after the divorce petition, came the startling revelation that the golfer and his wife had salvaged their marriage.
In a statement at that time, said: “There have been rumours about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate.
“Responding to each rumour is a fool’s game. Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realised that our best future was as a family together.
“Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.”;
Less than a year on, before the eyes of the watching world, their love appears to have rekindled.
His triumph on Sunday makes him the first European — and only the sixth player — to win , Open Championship, US Open and titles.
While successfully rebuilding his marriage, McIlroy has secured his greatest victory, at the 17th attempt.
Rocky start
In doing so he had to ignore what some news outlets called a “dig”; by his ex-fiancée Caroline Wozniacki.
McIlroy had broken off his engagement to the Danish star in 2014 shortly after sending out wedding invitations, telling her in a three-minute phone call.
McIlroy later said: “The problem is mine. The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realise that I wasn’t ready. I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves.”;
Stunned Wozniacki had reportedly already tried on her wedding dress.
At Atlanta this week she said: “As a spectator, it’s always fun to see when the best in the world are struggling, and that’s what you get here.”;
Some took it as a reference to McIlroy after he had a rocky start.
So has McIlroy’s settled private life helped him reach the pinnacle of golf?
After all, it is a sport that can depend as much on the mind as on technique. As the four-day Augusta International tournament unfurled, golf aficionados noticed a calmer and more patient McIlroy.
His family have certainly been helping him zone out from the stresses of grand slam golf at the legendary US course in .
The man from Holywood, Co Down, was convinced by Erica, 37, to watch racy period drama . And he watched animation Zootopia with four-year-old daughter Poppy.
He also tried not to look at his phone, instead delving into John Grisham’s The Reckoning, picking up a novel “for the first time in a long time”;.
Keep coming back, keep working hard, and if you put your mind to it you can do anything.
Rory McIlroy
Manchester United fan McIlroy also immersed himself in watching other sports on TV, including Formula 1 and the Premier League.
After collecting his famed green jacket as a Masters winner, he made a heartfelt public plea to Poppy: “Never give up on your dreams.
“Keep coming back, keep working hard, and if you put your mind to it you can do anything. Love you.”;
It had been an 11-year wait to lift the Masters after securing the other three grand slam championships.
And the pressure built as the years went by.
His voice broke with emotion after his victory on Sunday when he reflected on the sacrifices made by mum Rosie and dad Gerry to launch him on the path to glory.
His dad, a decent golfer himself, gave his son a set of plastic clubs aged two. By the age of three, Rory was astonishing onlookers by hitting 40-yard drives at Holywood Golf Club.
An only child, McIlroy honed his chipping technique by firing balls into the family’s washing machine.
He often went to clutching a golf club so that he would develop muscle-memory of his grip.
His hard-working parents took on extra to fund their son’s burgeoning sporting career.
Gerry put in 100 hours a week, cleaning toilets at a local sports club in the mornings before doing afternoons and evenings as a barman at Holywood Golf Club.
After looking after Rory during the day, Rosie worked the midnight shift packaging rolls of tape. It meant his parents saw little of each other. But their graft was soon producing results.
Aged nine, Rory won the U10 World Championship in . He also got to play against top amateurs every .
Later, a proud Gerry said: “I had no idea what else to do. I’m a working-class man. We wanted to give our only child a chance.”;
When the riches of championship golf poured in, McIlroy bought his parents a house, saying: “I’ll never be able to repay Mum and Dad for what they did, but at least they know they’ll never have to work another day.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to look after them.”;
Their son was hailed by some as the next . In 2011 he won the US Open with a dominant display, followed by the PGA Championship a year later.
Then in 2014 he took both Championship and PGA.
However, the Major tournament victories then dried up.
Victories dried up
Meanwhile, his private life had been marked by indecision.
He met first love Holly Sweeney when she was 14 and he was 16, but he broke off the five-year relationship in early 2011.
Soon there was a change of heart, with McIlroy previously saying: “I realised pretty quickly that I had made a mistake, and I had to do a lot of begging and grovelling to get her back. She is fantastic.”;
Just before his 2011 Open victory, Holly was again told it was over. A day after the news had been made public, the golfer was being linked to Danish tennis star Wozniacki, then the world No1.
The couple got engaged, but in 2014, after sending out their wedding invitations, McIlroy got cold feet, saying he realised that he was not ready for marriage.
McIlroy first met New York-born Erica Stoll when she worked for the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).
He had overslept during the 2012 and nearly missed his tee-off time and Erica arranged a escort to get him to the course.
They kept bumping into each other through her PGA work and became an item after he split with Wozniacki.
They married in 2017 at the medieval Ashford Castle in County Mayo, where guests included One Direction’s , frontman , singer and actor .
Soul music legend Stevie Wonder sang at the event, which is said to have cost £400,000.
The couple have luxury properties in Wentworth, , and bought a house near West Palm Beach, , for £7.6million in 2012.
In 2023, his fortune was estimated at £225million — and he would have added another £3.4million to that after finally landing the US Masters on the weekend.
The crowning glory of his career, it will have been all the more sweet for having his young family by his side to share it with.
