One would usually congratulate the Northern Irishman for raking in his 26th PGA Tour win several days ago. But the news of Rory McIlroy’s split with wife Erica Stoll appears to have killed all the celebrations in the golf world. The golfer moved for divorce after almost 7 years of marriage, with reports indicating the court documents had already been filed in Florida. To do so, he turned to the same attorney who helped Tiger Woods with his divorce.

A tweet was shared by NUCLR GOLF on their X handle, divulging the same. It pointed out how the 4-time major champ retained Thomas Sasser, the lawyer who successfully helped Woods divorce Elin Nordegren in 2010 while mentioning how the court filings indicate his marriage, involving a prenup, with Stoll to have been “irretrievably broken.”

“Rory McIlroy’s communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed,” revealed Sean O’Flaherty, the PGA Tour Pro’s manager, in a statement before adding, “They stressed Rory’s desire to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible.” He also went ahead to disclose that the 35-year-old will not be making any further comments for the time being.

McIlroy’s attorney, Sasser, is a renowned lawyer who has taken on a number of high-profile clients and their divorce cases. Aside from Woods, the managing partner of Sasser, Cestero & Roy has also helped the likes of Joe Jonas in his split with Sophia Turner after four years of marriage. This new revelation did spark some controversy in the eyes of fans. While some commented on him retaining the 48-year-old’s lawyer, others took a jab at the golfer for his overall attitude, supposedly resulting in the divorce.

Does Rory McIlroy’s divorce indicate a shift to LIV Golf?

The professional had earlier been associated with LIV Golf and many speculations had arisen. The talks even indicated that he would defect for a whopping $850 million. As the rumors started to take force, the 26-time PGA Tour winner quickly dispelled the rumors by mentioning how he was never offered a contract with LIV. McIlroy once again pledged allegiance to the Tour and said, “I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career… For me, my future is here on the PGA Tour, and it’s never been any different.” Even so, some fans couldn’t help but bring in his rumored defection when they went ahead to comment; “My man getting a divorce before he takes the LIV money! Chess not checkers,” and “Getting prepared for his LIV contract talks this year… New Orleans win with his fellow Irishman was a prelude to team golf… Save this tweet…” alluding to the recent win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with teammate Shane Lowry at an overall 25-under, earning $1.286 million per player. Another user brought in his most recent win at the Wells Fargo Championship in the equation and tweeted, “She waited for him to win again and said ok I’m out.”

Following McIlroy’s initial snub from the PGA TOUR Enterprises policy board, it was reported that there was a possible rift between Woods and the 4-time major champ. However, soon after, the golfer took to calm down the rumors: “I would say, I mean, I think friends can have disagreements or not see eye to eye on things.” 2010 was one of the most difficult years of Tiger Woods’s life, as he saw the end of his nearly six-year marriage. To make matters more difficult, the media extensively covered his divorce. One fan recounted Woods’s tumulous divorce and sarcastically included it in their tweet about the world No. 2’s current situation: “Rory texted Tiger ‘lemme use your guy.’”

From being an ardent PGA Tour loyalist to making a U-turn with LIV Golf, Rory McIlroy has turned many heads in the community. He had initially supported the ban against the defectors, including Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, among others, in the Ryder Cup. However, he soon made a change in his stance following Jon Rahm’s defection. That’s not all. The golfer even conveyed his approval of the Saudi-backed league, expressing how he would want it to turn into something like the IPL. Changing his opinions so many times led to many calling him a child. As a result, a fan also reacted the same way: “She must have wondered out loud what it would be like to live with an adult?”

The divorce comes as a surprise to many of his fans, especially when the two have gone through 7 years of marriage all the while sharing a kid. While the fans are worried for the golfer and his family, they would surely want him to perform his best in the upcoming major. All they can do is just wait and watch!