Rory McIlroy did not inform estranged wife Erica Stoll that he intended to divorce her in person, according to a report.
The PGA Tour star, 35, filed to divorce Stoll, 36, following seven years of marriage just 24 hours after winning the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.
However, it has now emerged that the four-time major winner hired a private investigator to serve the divorce papers to Stoll at their family home.
Stoll, a New York state native, was served the legal documents by Carl Woods – a Palm Beach police officer, who also runs a process serving business, CW Services & Associates, according to court documents obtained by the Belfast Telegraph.
Woods turned up unannounced at the McIlroys’ lavish $22million marital mansion in Jupiter, Florida at 10.30am ET on May 13 and handed Stoll a copy of McIlroy’s divorce petition.
The citation includes details about Stoll’s appearance, stating that she is Caucasian, has blonde hair, is in her 30s, slender, and stands at a height ranging from 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-8. According to court records, the professional golfer who has won four major championships electronically signed his divorce papers on May 9 while participating in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. He went on to win the tournament, beating Xander Schauffele by a margin of five shots.
Stoll, who has a three-year-old daughter named Poppy with the professional golfer, has 20 days from the day she was served to submit a written response to the petition to the circuit court clerk, as stated in the documents.
The summons stated that a phone call would not be enough for protection. To have their side of the case heard in court, the recipient must file a written response that includes the case number and the parties’ names listed above.
“If you fail to submit your response before the deadline, you could lose the case and have your wages, funds, and assets seized by the court without any additional notice.”
There are additional legal obligations that need to be considered. It would be advisable to contact a lawyer immediately.
If you do not have a lawyer in mind, you can contact a lawyer referral service or a legal aid office (found in the phone directory).
As of May 26, when the Belfast Telegraph published its report, Stoll had yet to respond.
Court documents filed in Palm Beach County on May 13 and obtained by DailyMail.com state that their marriage was ‘irretrievably broken’
The petition for divorce also states that the pair had signed a prenuptial agreement. However, the details of the arrangement have not been divulged.
McIlroy’s attorney was listed as Thomas Sasser, the same attorney who represented Tiger Woods when his wife divorced him in 2010.
The filing also calls for shared custody and a parenting plan to be established for Poppy.
McIlroy and Stoll married in 2017 and share daughter Poppy, who they welcomed in 2020.
McIlroy, whose career earnings on the PGA Tour total nearly $87million, first met New York state native Erica during the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah in Illinois, at which she was working for the PGA of America.
He has previously credited the American with helping him make his tee time at Medinah – thanks to a police escort – after he missed his alarm.
He went on to win his match over Keegan Bradley as part of what was later hailed as the ‘miracle at Medinah’.
Despite initially meeting at the Ryder Cup that year, it wasn’t until a few years later that the pair would enter a relationship
McIlroy’s breakup with Wozniacki came days before the BMW PGA Championship in England, which he went on to win. At the same event the previous year, he tied for 96th place.
It is an eerily similar pattern for the golfer, who won his 26th tournament on the PGA Tour, with his fourth Wells Fargo Championship victory in another dominant performance amid filing for divorce.
Two weeks before, he scooped yet another trophy for his cabinet, winning the Zurich Classic alongside pal and Ryder Cup teammate, Irishman Shane Lowry, with the duo celebrating their triumph with an impromptu rendition of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’.
Erica has regularly been spotted supporting her PGA husband at his tournaments, including the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome where she wowed in a stunning, strapless black gown on the Spanish Steps.
She was also on McIlroy’s bag for the Masters Par-3 competition with their daughter Poppy in 2023. However, the McIlroy family were notably absent from the traditional, annual event.
Erica was raised in New York and earned a marketing degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2008. Following that, she joined the Professional Golf Association of America.
Ericica was there to support Rory during the second season of the Netflix show Full Swing, which followed the 2023 PGA Tour. In the scenes, she was seen calming Rory down during a burst of emotions and then giving him a kiss while Team Europe was ahead in the previous year’s Ryder Cup.
After becoming a mother, Stoll reportedly dedicated herself to being a parent, with Poppy being her main focus, particularly when it came to managing McIlroy’s PGA Tour schedule while traveling. According to a source who spoke to Us Weekly, one issue in Rory’s marriage to Erica was that Erica felt isolated within the relationship.
The source described Rory as a challenging partner to be in a marriage with.
The insider disclosed that the couple’s marriage had reached a crucial turning point.” According to the source, she was aware of the nature of his job when she got involved with him. However, after they had a child named Poppy, things took a different turn and her viewpoint shifted. “During most of his tournaments, Erica would typically not be present and instead would be concentrating on Poppy.”
Ever since McIlroy filed for divorce, speculation has been growing about his connection with CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis as they were both seen without their wedding bands.
Another insider involved with the tour suggests that McIlroy has been extremely dedicated to golf, focusing all his energy on trying to win another major after ten years.
They also mentioned that he dedicated a lot of effort and hard work to protect the PGA from LIV golf for the past two years, but in the end, it seemed like it was all in vain,” they informed People. “He is simply attempting to discover himself, concentrate, and return to a mindset of winning,” according to the source.
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