U.S. Open winner J.J. Spaun was the first to reveal Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll’s huge decision to move back to the UK.
The Arizona resident claimed the first major title of his career at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday in unusual fashion, finishing on one-under-par as the Pennsylvanian fortress proved too hot to handle for some of the world’s greatest golf stars.
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For example, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Wyndham Clark and Dustin Johnson were all among the previous champions of the tournament who failed to make Friday’s cut, while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and LIV Golf star Jon Rahm settled for scores of four-over by the end of play.
Speaking after his win, Spaun told the media: “I never thought I would be here holding this trophy. I’ve always had aspirations and dreams but a few months ago I didn’t know what my ceiling was and how good I could be, but I am just proud.
“I have been resilient in my career and pushed through a lot of things and tried to be the best golfer I could be. I was happy to display that today at Oakmont. It was a dream weekend scenario on Father’s Day, to have my two kids here is awesome and a cherry on top of a wonderful weekend.”
It comes just months after the 34-year-old came agonisingly close to winning this year’s Players Championship on the PGA Tour, only to be denied his first win of the year by McIlroy via a nail-biting play-off. The pair finished on 12-under at the Players Stadium Course, before revisiting the 16th, 17th and 18th holes to determine a winner the following day.
McIlroy birdied the first of three holes to Spaun’s par, but the tournament was all but decided on the island 17th when Spaun settled for a triple bogey as a result of finding the water as McIlroy carded a bogey. McIlroy then putted for bogey on the final hole to secure his second Players Championship title.
J.J. Spaun and Rory McIlroy speak on the final green of the Players Championship
Rory McIlroy beat J.J. Spaun to the Players Championship(Image: Getty Images)
Discussing topics of conversation as the two met at the course, Spaun inadvertently broke the news on the Fore Play podcast that McIlroy was planning a move back to the UK after spending time Stateside. He said: “He’s super cool. We were talking about the UK.
“I know he’s Northern Irish, but I asked him if he ever hangs out in London. Because my wife has got a really good friend that lives out there and loves going there.
“I asked him about that, and he said, ‘Oh yeah, I’m building a house out there.’ He kept it really friendly and light, and then we chatted a lot until the back nine, and that was it.”
It came just a month after McIlroy explained that his wife was keen on spending more time in the UK, telling Netflix’s Full Swing: “If it was up to her, she wouldn’t move to England straightaway, but she definitely wants to spend more time there.”
Rory McIlroy kisses his wife Erica Stoll
Rory McIlroy is set to return to the UK with his family(Image: Getty Images)
While McIlroy and his wife, Stoll, currently spend the bulk of their time in a $22 million mansion in Jupiter, Florida, the 36-year-old has since confirmed that he is planning a return across the pond to live in a newly-built Wentworth mansion. Speaking to the Telegraph in May, McIlroy explained: “Straight after Augusta we travelled over to see the house as it was going through the finishing touches. It was fun to see and we could have stayed in it, but we wanted to get over to Holywood.”
McIlroy, who made the cut at Oakmont but endured a frustrating week all d
the same with a final score of seven over, is now set to move back to the UK in the coming weeks with his wife and their daughter Poppy, while he will continue to use his Florida home for his stateside visits on the PGA Tour. Speaking about the move after his T19 finish, he said: “I’m looking forward to just getting back to Europe in general.
