Rory McIlroy celebrated his first win of 2025 by catching up with a familiar face.
In the moments following his two-stroke win over pal Shane Lowry at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday, the Northern Irishman, 35, spoke to CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis for a post-tournament interview — months after the two were at the center of dating rumors following McIlroy’s divorce bombshell, a matter he has since reversed course on.
“To win at one of the cathedrals of golf is really, really cool,” McIlroy remarked of Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. “I knew today was going to be tough, it was going to be exciting, there was so many guys around the lead, and I had to, with it being Pebble Beach, I had to put that to the back of my mind and just go in there to shoot a score, which I was able to, but really cool to have that walk up to [hole] 18, sort of take it all in, was very cool.”
McIlroy shot 6-under in the final round at Pebble Beach to finish the tournament 21-under to pull away from a tightly packed field and earn $3.6 million.
The four-time major champion told Balionis how Sunday’s victory — the 27th PGA Tour win of his career — “is a really cool way to start the season.”
“I’m just as determined this year as I have been in any of the years I’ve been out here on the PGA Tour and to get this win this early, it means a great deal. Hopefully, keep the momentum going into Torrey Pines in a couple weeks time,” McIlroy said.
Balionis posted photos of the post-round interview to her Instagram, along with other highlights from her week in Northern California.
“Win number 27 (!!) for (McIlroy) and one he’ll remember for sure. As a golf history buff, you know putting his name on this trophy is meaningful as is a win to kick off 2025,” Balionis wrote. It’s nearly impossible to beat a perfect Sunday at (the AT&T Pro Am) and my goodness were we lucky to experience exactly that today.”
McIlroy is off to a hot start this season following a roller-coaster year in 2024 when it was revealed in May that he and wife Erica Stoll were splitting up before reconciling weeks later.
However, before the divorce plans were scrapped, speculation surfaced that McIlroy and Balionis could be involved.
US Weekly confirmed in May the athlete and the journalist “only have a professional relationship.”
Balionis wed football coach Bryn Renner in 2022, though she has appeared without her wedding ring for about a year now.
McIlroy has been married to Stoll since 2017 and they share one child, 4-year-old daughter Poppy.
The PGA Tour star stressed the importance of family in a statement addressing his divorce reversal.
“Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together,” McIlroy said in a June statement. “Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.”
McIlroy will tee it up at Torrey Pines for the Genesis Invitational beginning Feb. 13.
