Rory McIlroy's wife Erica Stoll and their daughter Poppy Kennedy McIlroy were among the first to embrace the newest Masters champion on Sunday, April 13 after the Co Down native not only won the prestigious golf tournament but clinched a career-defining Grand Slam.
It was a sweetly emotional moment for Rory and Erica, who have been a couple for roughly eleven years.
A win for the family. #themasters pic.twitter.com/mRl5JTWenE
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2025
During the green jacket ceremony, McIlroy fought back tears as he said: "My family, my team.
"They've been on this journey with me the whole way through.
"They know the burden that I've carried to be here every year and try and try and try again."
Gratitude to his family. Advice from a champion. #themasters pic.twitter.com/jYBe6ryMXH
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2025
Where is Erica Stoll from?
Erica, 37, is from Irondequoit, in upstate New York. She attended Irondequoit High School, which extended its congratulations on Sunday after Rory won the Masters.
⛳️ Congrats to Irondequoit High School graduate Erica (Stoll) McIlroy and her husband Rory on winning the Masters and becoming just the 6th player to achieve the career Grand Slam! Wow - what a Sunday!@McIlroyRory pic.twitter.com/kcg4uhKaRO
— Irondequoit High School Athletics (@WIEagles) April 14, 2025
After high school, Erica graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in marketing in 2008.
In July 2016, Rory revealed: “Erica loves Ireland. It’s very similar to the place where she grew up, in Rochester, upstate New York, where it’s also very green and leafy."
How did Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy meet?
Erica and Rory met almost by accident in 2012.
During the Ryder Cup in 2012, Stoll, the then-manager of Championship Volunteer Operations at the PGA of America, noticed that McIlroy had not shown up as his tee time approached. She dashed to his hotel and discovered he had mistaken his tee-off time, apparently due to some time zone confusion. She got him to the course just on time.
At the time, Rory was dating tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki. The two got engaged in December 2013 but called it off the following May.
When did Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy begin dating?
Rory and Erica are believed to have started dating sometime later in 2014.
In May 2015, Rory told The Times that he had “met someone new."
“She doesn’t play golf, but she is involved with golf," he said.
"I have known her for three years and we are good friends ... If everything off the golf course is good, it allows you to be better on it as well.”
He added: “I am very happy in my love life.
“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."
Rory separately told CoolFM: “The nice thing about mine and Erica’s relationship is that it started out as friends.
“We were friends for a couple of years and we knew each other sort of from the golf circuit, and in summer 2014, towards the end of the summer, started to spend a bit more time together and it went from there.
“We spent Halloween together and then the next day we went for a bit of brunch.
“We actually bumped into my dad, but my mum and dad knew her anyway so that was OK.
“It was actually a little pub in Florida down from where we live, a wee place called The Thirsty Turtle and I can even remember what we were eating.
“And we were sort of seeing each other for about a month and I didn’t really ask her out, I just sort of said, ‘yano what’s going on here?’ ‘Where’s this going type of thing?’.
“And I think she was conscious that she didn’t want to pressurize me into anything because of what had went on with me, but I was all for it.”
When did Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy get engaged?
Rory proposed to Erica in Paris in November 2015.
"Erica has been around me quite a lot at tournaments but we have really just tried to keep it low-key," the golf pro said in Dublin the month after their engagement.
"She is a very low-key person, not the kind to broadcast stuff, but that side of my life is really good just now.
"We are excited, our parents are excited so it is a really happy time."
He added: "For me, Erica brings such a level of normality to everything. She has a calming presence, a sereneness and that’s not just on me; it is noticeable in any company. She never wants to be the center of attention and is always very comfortable in the background.
"She has been a great influence on me and has given such a great balance to my life - between who I am when people see me out here and who I am at home."
View this post on Instagram
When did Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy get married?
Erica and Rory got married in April 2017 at the luxurious Ashford Castle in Co Mayo.
In attendance at the celebration were Ed Sheeran, Jamie Dornan, Chris Martin, and Niall Horan, among other celebrities.
Stevie Wonder and a 15-piece band performed "Isn't She Lovely" for the newlyweds and US Masters champion Sergio Garcia showed up as did many other golfers from the PGA ranks.
Congratulations to Erica & @McIlroyRory on your wedding day! Best wishes from all @BallinrobeGolf pic.twitter.com/Ww1YJlugbR
— Ballinrobe Golf Club (@BallinrobeGolf) April 22, 2017
The two reportedly honeymooned afterward in the Caribbean on Canouan Island, in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Do Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy have children?
Yes - on August 31, 2020, the couple welcomed a daughter, Poppy Kennedy McIlroy.
View this post on Instagram
Poppy, 4, made a splash last week during Kids Day of the Masters. Cheering her on alongside her proud dad was pro-golfer Shane Lowry, a native of Co Offaly and one of Rory's closest pals.
Poppy McIlroy converts the lengthy putt on No. 9! #themasters pic.twitter.com/6Vfkfxm3v7
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2025
Are Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy divorced?
Rory and Erica's relationship hasn't been without its bumps, however. The golf star filed for divorce in Palm Beach County court in Florida on May 14, 2024 - but less than a month later, Rory confirmed that he and Erica had called the divorce off.
“There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate," Rory told The Guardian on June 11.
"Responding to each rumor is a fool’s game.
“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.”
Indeed, Florida court records show that McIlroy’s divorce proceedings were dismissed as of June 11.
Comments