Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Rory has a little birdie on his mind
Golf ace Mcilroy about to be a dad
GOLF ace Rory Mcilroy admitted his mind wandered in recent weeks as he prepares to become a father.
The four-time Major winner was close to his brilliant best on the course before the suspension of the PGA Tour amid the coronavirus pandemic.
His form dipped following lockdown but he had as good an excuse as any - after it was revealed over the weekend wife Erica Stoll is due to give birth to a baby girl “any day now”.
Rory, 31, from Hollywood, Co Down, said: “I didn’t think it was something I
really particularly needed to share. It’s a private matter, but we’re really excited and can’t wait for her to get here. I think my mind has been wandering the last few weeks, and now you guys sort of know the reason why,”
The news was broken on The Golf Channel’s live broadcast of the BMW Championship on Friday evening and Rory explained despite being in contention, he was ready to ditch the course as soon as he got a call.
His caddie and long-time pal Harry Diamond was ready to take a call and alert Mcilroy if it was time to leave for the birth of his daughter.
Rory added: “You’re going out to play and maybe not knowing whether you’re going to finish the round or not.
“It’s definitely not an excuse. I just haven’t played well enough.
“I keep talking about perspective. If you do play bad, I’ve got some awesome stuff coming up on the horizon which makes the bad days a lot easier to handle.”
Rory met American Erica when she was working for the PGA of America and they married at a lavish reception
at Ashford Castle in Co Mayo in 2017.