Golf legend Rory McIlroy is known for his sporting achievements, and away from his life in the spotlight, the Irish-born star is a devoted father.
The 36-year-old golf pro shares a daughter, five-year-old Poppy, with his wife, Erica Stoll, 38, who is a former PGA of America employee. The couple started dating in 2015, getting engaged in December that year and they wed at Ashford Castle in County Mayo in 2017.
© Getty ImagesThey briefly were on the verge of separating, however, when Rory filed for divorce in May of 2024. Just a few days later, however, the petition was withdrawn, with the couple working on their relationship. And they're still going strong! Learn more about Erica below...
Meet Poppy McIlroy
Poppy was born in August 2020, with proud dad Rory sharing the happy news on his social media. He wrote: "Poppy Kennedy McIlroy, born August 31st, 12:15pm. She is the absolute love of our lives. Mother and baby are doing great."
"Massive thank you to all the staff at Jupiter Medical Center and Dr Sasha Melendy for their amazing care."
© Getty ImagesFollowing the birth, Rory opened up about becoming a father, telling Golf Week: "It's amazing. You see other people having kids and babies, and you'll say congratulations and you're happy for them, but you don't really know how it feels."
He added: "It's probably the best part of being a human being, and I'm glad that I got to experience it."
© Getty ImagesThe former world golfing number one also shared the story behind choosing his daughter's name, explaining that they went through the names of flowers before they settled on the moniker Poppy.
"We wanted to go with something that was pretty unique, maybe more common back where I’m from, but we landed on Poppy and we loved it," he explained.
Poppy, future golf sensation
In 2023, fans of Rory's saw the golfer joined by his little girl during the Masters Par 3 contest in Augusta. Poppy looked so adorable dressed in a matching white caddy outfit to her mum with "McIlroy" printed on her back in green.
© Getty ImagesShe has returned each year since, especially going viral back in 2025 for putting the ball into the hole, and is back once again for the 2026 Augusta Masters with her parents. And Rory is loving spending all of his off-season time with his daughter.
"Poppy, like she's a mini Erica," he said during a press conference. "It's like living with two of them, which is great a lot of the time. She is the most unbelievably polite and respectful and well-behaved little girl, and I really love that she started to get into the game a lot more, and it all stemmed from the putt last year at the Par 3."
© Getty ImagesOf course, at just five, she's already getting the hang of the game! "So she made sure that I brought her putter up this year so she could hit the putt with her putter and not mine," he continued. "Just to see her grow up to have her travel the world to see different places, to give her a life that I could only dream about when I was that age, that's been the coolest thing."
