Rory McIlroy has won multiple tournaments this year. But the most important of them all was completing his career Grand Slam by winning the 2025 Masters. However, eight months after fulfilling his decades-long dream of donning the Green Jacket, he is apparently ‘tired’ of it.

The World No. 2 admitted feeling exhausted and started complaining about having to wear the jacket during most events across the globe. Be it in Ireland or in India or in Abu Dhabi, wherever McIlroy went, he had to don the Green Jacket.

Quite a taxing job doing it over and over again. And he started grumbling about it to his wife, Erica Stoll. However, he figured out a solution. No, he didn’t ask his wife to hide the Green Jacket, but rather, requested her to hit him if he ever complained about wearing it again.

“I sort of complained about wearing it in Abu Dhabi. And I said to my wife, Erica, ‘If you ever hear me complain about wearing this thing again, punch me or do something because I’ve waited my whole life to wear this and now I’m complaining about wearing it,'” Rory McIlroy quipped during the CNBC CEO Council Forum.

McIlroy, however, didn’t divulge whether Erica ever had to keep her husband’s request or not. But of course, McIlroy was in a paradoxical situation. He waited a long time to win the Masters. The Ulsterman first came close to it in 2011, when he blew his 54-hole lead to finish at T15. Since then, McIlroy has had four top-five finishes but could never enter the Butler Cabin.

It wasn’t easy in 2025, either. He was head-to-head with Justin Rose until the very end, but finally defeated him with a birdie in the first round of the playoff.

“This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said after completing his career Grand Slam.  “I still, if I watch that final scene on the 18th green and I drop to my knee, it’s still hard for me not to cry. I just that, whatever it is, eight or nine months on, it’s just, it’s so hard for me not to feel those emotions again,” the 2025 Masters champion said in a later interview.

The Northern Irishman turned professional in 2007, and he won his first major at the 2011 U.S. Open. And by 2014, he had won three of the four majors. In fact, he is the only golfer with a 17-year streak of finishing in the top 10 in at least one major.

But Rory McIlroy’s light-hearted confession about asking Erica to keep him in check highlights how much he leans on her honesty and humor. Moments like that make a natural bridge into the steady support and partnership that have shaped their life together beyond the fairways.

Top Stories

‘RIP’: Golf Community in Mourning as 2x Major Champ Fuzzy Zoeller Dies at 74

Charley Hull Calls for Public Help After Her Golf Clubs Are Stolen in Broad Daylight

How Did Golf Legend Fuzzy Zoeller Die? All About 74-YO’s Cause of Death

Patrick Cantlay Beats Scottie Scheffler to Claim PGA Tour Record Despite Winless Season

Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll’s relationship

Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll share a playful relationship. Tender moments define them, like McIlroy’s “What a year” whisper to Stoll post-Ryder Cup win, followed by a heartfelt embrace amid celebrations. She joins in team chants with a beaming smile despite fan abuse, showing resilience and shared joy. Their rapport blends humor, vulnerability, and quiet strength, with McIlroy defending her fiercely against online vitriol.

However, it wasn’t without ups and downs. In 2024, there was a brief period when McIlroy filed for divorce. His multiple duties, as a golfer, as a PGA Tour Policy Board member, and of course, his own personal business, left Erica feeling isolated. However, they quickly reconciled. McIlroy has openly admitted struggling to balance being the best golfer, husband, and dad, crediting their honest talks for renewal.

Their journey reflects a partnership shaped through laughter, honest conversations, and a willingness to grow together. Rory McIlroy’s career highs feel even richer with Erica beside him, grounding their family through every shift life brings.