World No 2 Rory McIlroy has admitted struggling to balance family life and professional golf after missing his five-year-old daughter Poppy's first day of school to prepare for the BMW Championship in St. Louis.
The 37-year-old Northern Irishman revealed he was forced to miss the milestone earlier this week as he prepared for the PGA Tour event, which teed off on Thursday. He lamented missing out on the moment as he admitted trying to prioritize spending more time with his wife, Erica Stoll, and their daughter.
"I would have loved to have been home for that, but I'm here, so it's just stuff like that, things I didn't have 10 years ago that I have these days. I am in a different spot in my life," McIlroy told reporters on Wednesday, adding that he is "trying to find that balance and then trying to be home enough."
"As the years go on, you try to, you know, life happens and things that you didn't have in your mid-20s you have in your mid-30s that you prioritize over golf, right," he added. "Prioritize things with your family or things that you don't want to miss. That's the stage of life where I'm at. Where, you know, not all my eggs are in the golf basket."
The six-time major champion went on to share that there are "other things that I want to do" and "other things I feel like I have to do."
"It's a balance," McIlroy continued. "Some years I'll maybe play more, some years I'll maybe play where it's a little bit lighter. But it's just that balance of making sure that you play enough to stay sharp, but then also I guess having balance in your life that you feel like you're not missing out on other things that you want to do."
Tour schedule and family routine
Despite his desire for a better balance, McIlroy confirmed that he will be competing in five of the next six weeks. He added that he still plays "more than most of the top guys" because of playing on both the PGA and DP World Tours.
McIlroy clinched his second green jacket at the Masters in April, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to triumph back-to-back at Augusta National. He revealed at the time that he had been making use of his $50million (£38m) private jet to fly back and forth to Augusta National for extra practice sessions on the course.
The Northern Irishman revealed that the strategy allows him to stay connected to his family, specifically his wife Erica Stoll and daughter Poppy.
"I honestly just don't like the three tournaments leading up to this event. I'd rather come up here. I did a couple of days where I dropped Poppy to school," McIlroy said. "Then flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with her or had dinner with Erica."
Marriage and court filings
The golf world was left stunned when McIlroy filed for divorce from Erica in 2024 following seven years of marriage. Divorce papers filed at Palm Beach County Court, Florida, in May 2024 showed the couple were drawing up arrangements for shared custody and a parenting plan to be established for Poppy, then three, with documents stating that the marriage was "irretrievably broken."
The couple looked certain to be heading for a split before they later announced it was no longer going ahead in a dramatic U-turn, with McIlroy saying that the ordeal was a "wake-up call."
"There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate," McIlroy said at the time. "Responding to each rumor is a fool's game. 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."
