Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll reportedly held secret meetings every weekend across four weeks in a bid to salvage their marriage.
The golf star, who missed a 3ft putt that cost him the chance to win the US Open on Sunday, filed for divorce out of nowhere on May 13, citing their marriage was ‘irretrievably broken’.
But, last week, the Northern Irishman dramatically scrapped plans to divorce his wife of seven years – as exclusively revealed by DailyMail.com.
Now, according to Irish outlet RSVP Live, McIlroy and Stoll secretly met at their $22million Florida mansion every weekend for four weeks for showdown talks.
They cite a source who claims the meetings were initially focused on how they would co-parent their daughter Poppy, 3, but the conversations eventually led to them reuniting.
Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll reportedly held secret meetings every weekend across four weeks
The couple supposedly met at their $22m Florida mansion and worked through their troubles
The stunning about-turn comes less than a month after Erica, 36, was served papers at the couple’s marital home in Jupiter, Florida, informing her that McIlroy wanted out of their marriage.
The May 13 petition gave Erica 20 days to file a counterclaim or risk having the court grant the divorce by default.
However, as DailyMail.com exclusively revealed, the blonde beauty failed to lodge any response or even register an attorney by the June 2 deadline.
But the Irishman’s attorney Thomas Sasser filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal on his behalf last week in Palm Beach County Courthouse.
McIlroy then addressed the speculation surrounding his relationship status in a statement to The Guardian – two days before the opening round of the US Open.
‘There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumor is a fool’s game,’ McIlroy said.
‘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.’
It’s claimed the meetings were initially focused on how they would co-parent daughter Poppy
McIlroy has been romantically linked in recent weeks to CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis
McIlroy was in Kentucky preparing for the PGA Championship when his divorce summons was delivered to Erica at their sprawling mansion.
His petition asked for shared parental custody of their little girl and asked for a judge to enforce a prenup agreement the couple signed prior to their 2017 wedding.
The paperwork handed over to her by Carl Woods, a Palm Beach cop who runs a process serving business, warned: ‘You have 20 calendar days after this summons is served on you to file a written response to the attached petition with the clerk of this circuit court.’
A phone call will not protect you. 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.’
McIlroy has been linked in recent weeks to CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, 38, whom he was seen hugging after the pair did an interview at the recent RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.
McIlroy, whose career earnings on the PGA Tour total nearly $87million, first met New York state native Erica during the 2012 Ryder Cup while she was working for the PGA of America.
He missed his alarm but she helped him make his tee time at Medinah in Illinois by arranging a police escort.
They began dating several months after he abruptly called off his engagement with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014.
While things may have turned a corner off the course for McIlroy, he allowed his best chance to end a 10-year wait for a fifth major title slip through his fingers at this year’s US Open at Pinehurst on Sunday.
McIlroy allowed his best chance to end a 10-year wait for a fifth major title slip away on Sunday
Bryson DeChambeau won his second US Open title on an extraordinary Sunday at Pinehurst
Thirteen years after winning his first US Open and maiden major at Congressional – and 3,599 days since winning the 2014 US PGA – McIlroy looked set to finally get back in the winner’s circle when he led by two shots with five holes to play.
However, the Northern Irishman amazingly missed from two feet and six inches for par on the 16th and less than four feet on the 18th to suffer another heartbreaking loss.
It allowed Bryson DeChambeau to claim his second US Open title on an extraordinary final day in North Carolina.
Commentating for Sky Sports in the UK, six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo said: ‘That’s going to haunt Rory for the rest of his life, those two misses.’
Unsurprisingly McIlroy was not in the mood to speak to the media and was seen immediately getting into his courtesy car and leaving the course.
DeChambeau, meanwhile, expressed sympathy for his beaten rival.
‘For him to miss that putt (on 18), I would never wish that on anybody,’ DeChambeau said after a final round of 71 left him six under par, a shot ahead of McIlroy and two clear of Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau.
‘I think that fire in him is only going to continue to grow. He’s going to win more major championships.
‘I have nothing but respect for how he plays the game of golf because, to be honest, when he was climbing up the leaderboard, he was two ahead, I was like, Uh-oh, uh-oh. But luckily things went my way.’
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