The dramatic end of Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki’s relationship is detailed in an explosive new book about the golf superstar.
McIlroy, 36, and Wozniacki, 35, started dating in 2011 and got engaged on New Year’s Eve in 2013, but they shocked fans when they abruptly announced their wedding was off shortly before they were scheduled to walk down the aisle in 2014.
According to golf journalist Alan Shipnuck, McIlroy met his now-wife, Erica Stoll, at the 2012 Ryder Cup when Stoll was working for PGA of America and provided a police escort to his tee because he was running late.
“He was throwing every ounce of game he had at Erica,” one former PGA employee told Shipnuck in his book, Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf’s Most Human Superstar, per an excerpt published in the Daily Mail on Monday, April 6.
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The employee added, “It was not subtle. It became a running joke among a few of us: Has Rory closed the deal yet?”
While there is no proof McIlroy cheated on Wozniacki with Stoll, 38, at the Ryder Cup, a group chat with PGA staffers was allegedly filled with “winking emojis” about the “smitten” pair.
NewsPlop has reached out to McIlroy for comment.
McIlroy announced he and Wozniacki had split in May 2014, after the couple had already sent out their wedding invitations.
“I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves and thank her for the great times we’ve had. I will not be saying anything more about our relationship in any setting,” McIlroy said in a statement at the time.
Wozniacki took to social media after news of the breakup, posting via X that it was “a hard time for me right now.”
McIlroy and Stoll started dating very shortly after the golfer split with Wozniacki.
“I am very happy in my love life. … The past six or seven months have been really nice. That part of my life is going great,” McIlroy told the Times of London in May 2015.
McIlroy and Stoll’s marriage has not been without drama. In May 2024, McIlroy filed for divorce after seven years of marriage before withdrawing the divorce application just weeks later.
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In his book, Shipnuck said that “rumors about McIlroy’s love life” were a hot topic within the golf community before his divorce filing, comparing Stoll to Tiger Woods’ ex-wife, Elin Nordegren.
“It didn’t help that Erica had become a neo-Elin Woods, never doing any interviews and remaining unknown to the golf public,” he wrote.
Shipnuck alleged that the couple’s reconciliation was “more about him than her.”
“If you are an internationally famous athlete heading toward becoming a billionaire, it is probably unwise to file for divorce unless you are 1 million percent certain there is zero chance to save the marriage,” he wrote. “But McIlroy’s life has been defined by impetuousness, on the golf course and in matters of business and romance.”