Out of the rough

Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica have called off their divorce and are looking forward to “a new beginning,” the golfer told The Guardian newspaper.

McIlroy filed divorce papers to end the seven-year marriage last month, on the eve of the PGA Championship.

But ahead of today’s start of the US Open at Pinehurst, in North Carolina, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman said there had been a change of heart.

“There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumor is a fool’s game,” the world No 3 told the newspaper. “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.”

Erica Stoll was working for the PGA of America when she met McIlroy in 2012 at the Ryder Cup.

They began dating in 2015, becoming engaged in December that year while on holiday in Paris and marrying in April 2017 at an Irish castle. Their daughter, Poppy, was born in 2020.

McIlroy, who has not won a Major since the 2014 PGA Championship, has 20 top-10 results in Majors since that decade-old triumph and is confident he can make the breakthrough this week.

“Getting my hands on a fifth Major has taken quite a while, but I’m more confident than ever that I’m right there, that I’m as close as I’ve ever been,” McIlroy said.

He will play alongside top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and world No 2 Xander Schauffele in the first two rounds.

Meanwhile, two-time Major champion Jon Rahm withdrew from the tournament due to a left foot infection.

Rahm had been scheduled to tee off alongside Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and American Jordan Spieth.