Erica Stoll and Rory McIlroy at Augusta National(Image: Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy and his family are set to move into a new property in Surrey, with the Masters champion’s wife Erica Stoll said to prefer cooler climes rather than the heat of their current home in the United States. New Yorker Erica and Northern Irishman Rory have been based in Jupiter, Florida with their daughter Poppy, but are poised to relocate to the UK.
Back in 2024, McIlroy filed for divorce, only for the pair to reconcile later the same year. They will remain in Florida for a little longer, but are expected to cross the Atlantic in between June’s US Open and the Open Championship at Royal Portrush the following month.
“Straight after Augusta we travelled over to see the house as it was going through the finishing touches,” McIlroy told The Telegraph. “It was fun to see and we could have stayed in it, but we wanted to get over to [McIlroy’s hometown] Holywood.”
McIlroy’s fellow golfer Martin Kaymer shared an anecdote about Stoll’s attitude towards the heat during an appearance on Netflix show Full Swing. “I saw her [Stoll] at a Starbucks once, and she said, ‘I really don’t like the sun.’ I said, ‘Your state’s called the Sunshine State, right?'” he said.
However, it was a different Netflix show which took centre-stage during a private moment before McIlroy’s Masters win. The 36-year-old completed a career Grand Slam at Augusta, beating Justin Rose in a play-off to claim the green jacket.
It was McIlroy’s first major in more than a decade, and his first triumph in the Masters after some near-misses. And, appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, he opened up on how he prepared for the success by watching Bridgerton with his wife.
“The week of the Masters, for me, I’m just trying to distract myself with doing anything,” the now-five-time major winner said.. “I’m trying not to watch coverage of the tournament, I’m trying not to watch anything about the golf.
“You try to just not look at the sports news. So, like, read a book, watch a show, watch a movie. So, I was watching ‘Bridgerton’ with my wife, which was her decision, but I actually got into it… It was good.”
McIlroy and Stoll with their daughter Poppy(Image: AP)
The Surrey move has been a while coming, by the sounds of things. Earlier in the year, rival J. J. Spaun inadvertendly let slip that the man who pipped him to glory at the Players Championship was headed back to the UK.
“I know he’s Northern Irish, but I asked him if he ever hangs out in London,” Spaun said on the Fore Play podcast. “Because my wife has got a really good friend that lives out there and loves going there. He said, ‘Oh yeah, I’m building a house out there.'”
