Rory McIlroy may have found a new tee time partner.
The famed golfer is rumored to have moved on from estranged wife Erica Stoll with sports reporter Amanda Balionis after the Daily Mail reported the duo were the “talk of the links” after people believed they noticed a close relationship between the two.
The romance rumors appeared to step from Balionis’ interview with McIlroy on May 12 after he won the Wells Fargo Championship.
However, Us Weekly reported Wednesday that the media member and four-time major champion are not romantically involved and have only a “professional relationship.”
Neither McIlroy nor Balionis have publicly addressed the hearsay.
The journalist, 38, has been married to football coach Bryan Renner since 2022, though the outlet noted it’s unclear if they’ve since separated.
McIlroy, 35, filed for divorce from Stoll, 36, earlier this month after seven years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the cause of the dissolution. His rep told Page Six that McIlroy’s desire is “to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible” and pointed out that “he will not be making any further comment.”
The athlete also stated in court documents that he and Stoll should have “shared parental responsibility” for their 3-year-old daughter, Poppy, and expressed a desire to create a parenting plan.
A source later told Us Weekly that Stoll, who met McIlroy in 2012 at the Ryder Cup, was “lonely in their marriage.”
“Rory was a hard person to be married to,” the insider claimed. “[Erica] knew what she was getting into with his profession, but once they had Poppy, things really changed and she had a new perspective.
“Erica was usually absent for most of his tournaments and was really focused on Poppy.”
The former couple tied the knot in 2016 in a ultra-luxurious wedding at the medieval Ashford Castle in Ireland.
The nuptials — which reportedly cost a whopping $250,000 — were kept under wraps and included several A-listers such as Stevie Wonder, Niall Horan, Ed Sheeran and Chris Martin.
