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PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy’s impending divorce from his estranged wife Erica Stoll was major news in the golf world when it was revealed just days before the start of the PGA Championship earlier this month.
McIlroy reportedly filed for divorce from Erica in a Florida court the Monday before the tournament began. It had been just over seven years since the couple were married in a ceremony in Ireland.
Now, the Belfast Telegraph reports that Rory McIlroy used a private investigator to serve his wife the divorce papers.
He is seeking to enforce a pre-nuptial agreement signed a month before the couple were married, and an order to share custody of their three-year old daughter.
Rory McIlroy reportedly signed the divorce papers on the morning of May 9 and they were filed on May 13.
The divorce papers were then delivered to Erica Stoll at the couple’s family home on the morning of May 13 by private investigator Carl Woods.
The document read, “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.
“There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may call an attorney referral service or a legal aid office (listed in the phone book.)”
Rory McIlroy signed the documents while he was in Quail Hallow, North Carolina at the Wells Fargo Championship after a first round score of four-under par, and would then go on to win the tournament.
The golfer would go on to shoot 66 on May 16, day one of the PGA Championship, setting a record as it was the ninth time in his career that he’d shot 66 or better on the opening day of a major. He would end up finishing 12th.