Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll held four private meetings at their Florida mansion to save marriage

Rory McIlroy's dramatic collapse at Sunday's U.S. Open came after a last-minute save in his personal life.

The Northern Irish golfer filed for divorce from Erica Stoll, his wife of seven years, May 13 in Palm Beach County, Florida, but McIlroy publically announced reconciliation a month later, a dramatic reversal that the Irish Independent reports was made possible by a series of "secret meetings" between the couple.

"There have been rumours about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumour is a fool's game," McIlroy said in a statement to The Guardian. "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."

McIlroy's initial divorce proceedings cited an "irretrievably broken" marriage — the Independent's source added that his decision was “a long time coming” and “not something that was taken lightly” — and the couple's series of talks expectedly began without a focus on reconciliation. Instead, they discussed a co-parenting arrangement to take care of 3-year-old daughter Poppy as McIlroy's communications team "stressed Rory’s desire to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible.”

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However, after being served with divorce papers the same day, Stoll reportedly declined to both hire a lawyer and respond to the divorce summons. These lengthy conversations turned weekly and, eventually, the two managed to reconcile their relationship and filed for voluntary dismissal earlier this month.

The star golfer met Stoll 12 years ago at the Ryder Cup, where the PGA of America employee helped McIlroy avoid missing his tee time at Medinah County Club. While their relationship began platonically — McIlroy was previously dating Caroline Wozniacki — the pair announced a public romance by the end of 2014.

Stoll caddied for McIlroy at the 2023 Masters
(Image: Getty Images)

"Erica that week was always the one that was checking us in and out. She was there at transportation, so she was always in the car park over there (by the clubhouse)," McIlroy told NBC Sports during an interview in 2019. "But yeah, it's still cool to look around and think about that week, and obviously everything that's happened since then. It's pretty cool."

McIlroy stoked doubts about his reconciliation earlier this week, completing a training session for the U.S. Open without his wedding ring, but the Northern Irishman's flight was airborne less than an hour after his gut-wrenching defeat at Pinehurst Sunday, en route to his and Stoll's West Palm Beach residence. Entering the weekend as the world's third-ranked golfer, McIlroy looked set to snap his baffling 10-year streak without a major tournament title with a one-stroke lead entering the final three holes.

After converting 496 straight putts from inside five feet, however, McIlroy failed to convert two attempts from that distance on the 16th and 18th holes, allowing Bryson DeChambeau to complete a stunning come-from-behind victory and claim his second-ever win at Pinehurst.