Narratives are rarely in short supply around Rory McIlroy, particularly come Masters time, and this week has been no exception.
The themes in recent days have been many and various. The Northern Irishman has ironed out a much scrutinised glitch in his swing. He has improved his short game. He arrived at Augusta National as the man in form, having bagged two titles in the run-up to the season’s opening major. And, as always since his fabled Masters meltdown of 2011, when he blew a four-shot lead going into the final round, he is aiming to complete a career grand slam.
Regardless of how McIlroy fares, however, one of the more established narratives is, paradoxically, just beginning. And if Arnold Palmer’s oft-repeated maxim that the most important six inches lie between the ears holds true, it may just be the key to McIlroy donning the Green Jacket come Sunday afternoon.
Twelve months ago, the 35-year-old drove down Magnolia Lane with much on his mind. Fighting an unseen battle to reconcile the demands of life as a professional golfer with his responsibilities as a husband and father, he spoke before the tournament of the need to ‘bring a little bit of normalcy into what I try to do’ and emphasised the importance of ‘being in the right frame of mind’.
Subsequent events brought home the full import of those words. McIlroy finished the tournament in joint 22nd place and, a month later, filed for divorce from Erica Stoll, his wife of seven years and the mother of his daughter, Poppy.
It appeared to signal the end of a relationship that had begun in 2014, when Stoll was still working as a manager of championship volunteer operations for the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. But a month later, with the golf world still reeling from news of the split, came an equally unexpected twist as it emerged the pair had reconciled their differences, with the divorce petition voluntarily dismissed.
Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica share a joke during the traditional par-three Masters curtain raiser at Augusta National on Wednesday. McIlroy will open his title challenge on Thursday
The couple pose with their four-year-old daughter Poppy, who wowed spectators by sinking a 25ft putt on the final hole of the Augusta National course during the family-friendly event
Erica smiles as McIlroy cradles his daughter at Augusta. The couple looked to be on the brink of divorce last May when McIlroy filed a divorce petition in Florida, but they quickly reconciled
‘Responding to each rumour is a fool’s game,’ McIlroy said last summer, venturing a rare public comment on the tumult in his private life.
‘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.’
That fresh start feels enduringly relevant. There has been much talk of past heartbreaks this week, much chatter about mental demons and scar tissue and near misses as the man from Holywood, County Down, looks to lay to rest the ghosts of Masters past. Yet the McIlroy who strolled out for Wednesday’s traditional par-three Masters curtain raiser, his wedding ring sparkling in the sunlight, cut a serene figure.
Accompanied by Stoll, 37, and his four-year-old daughter Poppy, who stole the show by sinking a 25ft putt on the final hole, the 35-year-old looked and sounded every inch the carefree family man.
‘We’re waiting nine months from the last major, so to end your preparations with such a fun afternoon is great,’ said McIlroy. ‘If you’re not ready by now, you don’t have a chance. Let’s have fun, go home, have dinner and rest and relax for Thursday.’
Do not underestimate the power of that mindset. Fun is perhaps the last word that comes to mind when considering the pressures involved in trying to claim one of the sport’s most prestigious prizes. Yet, as McIlroy has long acknowledged, a clear head and a stable private life are the foundations for success inside the ropes.
McIlroy poses with Erica and Poppy at Augusta. In 2011, the Northern Irishman blew a four-shot lead going into the final round of the Masters, where he is seeking an elusive career grand slam
The McIlroy family pose for a picture last November at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. They are seen alongside the DP World Tour Championship trophy and the Race to Dubai trophy
‘I have met someone new,’ McIlroy told the Times in 2015, touching on the importance of his relationship with Stoll. ‘She doesn’t play golf, but she is involved with golf. 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.’
Famously, Stoll’s valuable influence on McIlroy’s career predated their emergence as a couple.
When a time zone mix-up at the 2012 Ryder Cup in the Illinois suburb of Medinah caused McIlroy to oversleep, Stoll came to the rescue by organising a police escort. McIlroy arrived with 10 minutes to spare until his tee time, but went on to defeat Keegan Bradley, helping Europe to a historic comeback win that would come to be known as the Miracle of Medinah.
‘Erica that week was always the one that was checking us in and out,’ McIlroy later recalled. ‘It’s still cool to look around and think about that week, and obviously everything that’s happened since then.’
Those happenings have included a high-profile split from Caroline Wozniacki, the former world No 1 tennis player, to whom McIlroy became engaged the following year only to break off the relationship five months later.
McIlroy and his wife are seen together during a golf demonstration event on the Aletsch glacier on Jungfraujoch saddle in the Swiss alps in 2018, a year after their marriage in County Mayo
Erica first crossed paths with McIlroy at the 2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah, Illinois, where the Northern Irishman almost missed his tee time after oversleeping due to a time-zone mix-up
McIlroy and daughter Poppy ponder the position of a ball at the Augusta National Golf Club
‘The problem is mine,’ he said at the time. ‘The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realise that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails.
‘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 began dating Stoll in late 2014, with the couple adopting a low profile initially.
‘I am very happy in my love life,’ he said the following summer. ‘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.’
He proposed in Paris later the same year, and in April 2017 the couple were married at Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Ireland, where Ed Sheeran and Stevie Wonder reportedly delivered live performances.
Stoll and McIlroy at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. The couple had got engaged late the previous year in Paris
McIlroy and his wife are seen at the All England Club on day nine of the Wimbledon fortnight in 2018. The golfer was once engaged to former world No 1 tennis player Caroline Wozniacki
The couple share a moment during the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in 2016
McIlroy chats with his caddie, Harry Diamond, ahead of a practice round at Augusta on Wednesday. Together with defending champion Scottie Scheffler, he is a favourite for the title
But Stoll has resolutely shunned the limelight, even keeping her pregnancy under wraps until the third trimester, and has remained a crucial source of calmness and stability throughout the relationship.
‘For me, Erica brings such a level of normality to everything,’ McIlroy explained early in their relationship.
‘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 centre 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.’
As McIlroy goes in search of a first Masters title this weekend with the turbulence in his private life firmly behind him, he will be hoping that a new beginning can yield a new ending.
