When in Rome
Ryder Cup wives explore Eternal City as Shane and Rory dig deep
AS golfers Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy chipped in for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup this week, their better halves got better acquainted with the delights of host city Rome.
Lowry’s wife, Wendy Honner, and McIlroy’s wife, Erica Stoll were front and centre as team captain Luke Donald’s wife Diane shared Instagram videos of the partners of Europe’s best golfers cavorting around the Italian capital.
The glamorous group visited traditional craft shops, zipped around the Eternal City on tuk-tuks and tossed coins into the Trevi fountain.
Earlier in the week during some time away from the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club host venue, the golfers and their partners visited the famous Spanish Steps, where Offaly man Lowry and
Fairy tale began at the 2012 Ryder Cup
wife Wendy posed for a snap the couple later shared on Instagram, her in a stunning yellow ball gown.
World No2 McIlroy and Erica Stoll were photographed cruising around the city in a golf buggy.
The tournament represents an anniversary for the Co. Down man and his American wife – their fairy-tale backstory began at the 2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah outside Chicago.
As though he were the leading man in a predictable romcom, the millionaire golfer overslept on a playing day and had to be woken up by Ms Stoll, who was working for organisers PGA at the time and noticed the young talent hadn’t surfaced.
McIlroy made his tee-off time with the aid of a police escort and kept in contact with the woman who made it happen.
Their friendship turned romantic by 2015 and in 2017 they got hitched at the opulent Ashford Castle in Co. Mayo. Entertainment was provided by Stevie Wonder and Ed Sheeran, while Niall Horan and Coldplay’s Chris Martin were on the guestlist.
Lowry and his Co. Laois partner’s wedding day was a more pared back affair – the couple tied the knot in 2016 in a low-key ceremony in New York, after realising ‘the big white wedding at home’ was the last thing either wanted.
The couple have a six-year-old daughter, Iris, and a two-year-old
called Ivy, while the McIlroys welcomed Poppy into the world in 2020.
While the Eternal City showed its delights to its visitors, the Irish boys were helping Europe to a commanding five-point lead over the USA before today’s singles shoot-out.