Nobody ever said marriage was easy, especially if you are a professional golfer.
With news breaking that Rory McIlroy has filed for divorce from his wife of seven years before this week’s PGA Championship, here are 10 high-profile Tour pro divorces.
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
Quite possibly the biggest scandal in all of sports involved arguably the greatest player in the history of golf. Of course, we are referring to that fateful November night in 2009 when Tiger Woods crashed his car into a fire hydrant while his wife at the time was reportedly chasing him with a golf club. Elin Nordegren discovered Woods had been cheating on her, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Mistress after mistress lined up to reveal the sexual encounters they had with the 14-time major winner. The scandal was so huge, the infamous New York Post actually ran Tiger on their cover for 20 consecutive days, eclipsing the 19-day mark set by the horrific events of 9/11. Needless to say, Elin filed for divorce after seven years of marriage and got a nice little settlement out of it.
Jason Dufner and Amanda Boyd
Who can forget the time Jason Dufner won the 2013 PGA Championship and snuck in a little tushy squeeze to his then wife Amanda Boyd during their celebratory hug. Too bad all fairytales must come to an end. For whatever reason after three long years of marriage, they divorced went their separate ways. Dufner’s game struggled mightily afterward, but he seems to have righted the ship.
John Daly and Sherrie Daly
John Daly has had his fair share of ex-wives. The first was Dale Crafton which lasted from 1987-1990. Then came Bettye Fulford for a brief stint in 1992. Paulette Dean Daly followed in 1995, but that ended in 1999. Finally, Sherrie Miller and Long John wed in 2001, only for it to end in divorce in 2007.
Greg Norman and Chris Evert
Greg Norman’s second wife was tennis star, Chris Evert. Talk about a power couple. Evert had won 18 women’s singles majors and Norman is one of the greatest golfers to ever live. They got married in 2008 and then quickly got divorced in 2009. Norman then remarried interior designer Kirsten Kutner in 2010.
Colin Montgomerie and Gaynor Montgomerie
Monty was married once before and was divorced. He then married Gaynor Knowles and that apparently didn’t work out either. Gaynor was convinced Monty cheated on her with three other women, one of which she claims had relations with him a day before their wedding in 2008.
Fred Couples and Deborah Couples & Thais Baker
Even the calm, cool, and collected Fred Couples has faced some marital problems in his day. This, however, is a sad story. Fred married Deborah in 1981. Then in 1993, they got divorced for unknown reasons. In 2001 Deborah, who was battling severe depression took her own life. Fred got remarried in 1998 to Thais Baker, but then got divorced again in 2009.
Lee Westwood and Laurae Westwood
Lee Westwood is arguably the most accomplished golfer to never have won a major. It was announced back in 2014 that Lee was divorcing from Laurae following a number of arguments. Westy is now dating former model, Helen Storey.
Will MacKenzie and Alli MacKenzie
Two-time PGA Tour winner Will MacKenzie was married to a lovely model named Alli, but it ended in a divorce back in 2014. That’s when the rumors of Dustin Johnson breaking up their marriage began. However, Alli admitted while she did might have had an alleged encounter with DJ, she was separated from Will at the time.
Mike Weir and Bricia Weir
Weir attended BYU where he met his ex-wife Bricia. He said he was blown away by her the first time they met. That didn’t last though because later in their relationship they got a divorce. The 2003 Masters champion was so bummed out about his divorce that he took time off from the PGA Tour to deal with it.
Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll
According to TMZ and confirmed by Rory McIlroy’s management on Tuesday at the PGA Championship, McIlroy and wife Erica Stoll are splitting up. The pair became romantic in 2014 after McIlroy called off his wedding to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2012, and wed in 2017. They have one child together, Poppy, who was born in 2020.
