New details have emerged in the divorce proceedings between golf superstar Rory McIlroy and estranged wife Erica Stoll.
According to court documents obtained by Irish newspaper The Belfast Telegraph, McIlroy hired a private investigator to serve Stoll with divorce papers while she was at their family home in a members-only development in Jupiter, Fla., on May 13.
Stoll was served the legal documents by Carl Woods, a former Palm Beach police officer who now runs a private practice, at 10:30 a.m., according to the summons.
Per court records, McIlroy signed the divorce papers digitally on May 9 while he was in North Carolina competing in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hallow, which he went on to win.
In the papers, McIlroy stated the seven-year marriage between himself and Stoll was “irretrievably broken” and the documents stated the pair has a prenup.
The Northern Irishman filed the papers in Palm Beach County Court through attorney Thomas Sasser, who represented Tiger Woods in his divorce with Elin Nordegren in 2010.
“A phone call will not protect you,” the summons read. “Your written response, including the case number given above and the names of the parties, must be filed if you want the court to hear your side of the case.
“If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case, and your wages, money and property may thereafter be taken without further warning from the court.
“There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may call an attorney referral service or a legal aid office (listed in the phone book.”
Stoll has 20 days to file a written response to McIlroy’s petition from the day she was served, but had yet to respond as of May 26, when the report was published.
The couple are seeking split custody of their three-year-old daughter Poppy.
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According to reports last week Stoll reached “a breaking point” in the couple’s before divorce papers were filed.
“A point of contention in Rory’s marriage with Erica was that Erica was lonely in their marriage,” a source told Us Weekly. “Rory was a hard person to be married to.”
McIlroy and Stoll, a former publicist, “were living very different lives the last two years with him being on the road, and eventually she had a breaking point,” the source said.
The rumour mill also ran rampant after McIlroy’s victory during this past weekend’s PGA Championship, with the golfer said to be romancing CBS sports journalist Amanda Balionis.
The Northern Irishman and the broadcaster were “the talk of the links” after some noticed their close relationship at events over the past few weeks, according to the Daily Mail.
Balionis and former NFL quarterback Bryn Renner have not officially announced a split, but the reporter changed her user name on X earlier this year from her married moniker of Balionis Renner back to her maiden name of just Balionis. Fans noted in February that she had ceased wearing her wedding ring on TV and in posts on social media.
The golf superstar and Balionis began to spark rumours at the previous week’s Wells Fargo Championship, which he won.
McIlroy is competing at this week’s RBC Canadian Open in Hamilton.