Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll signed prenup before they wed as ...

Divorce papers were officially filed on Monday, in a Palm Beach County court in Florida, seven years after the couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Ashford Castle.

The petition for divorce states that the pair had signed a prenuptial agreement. The filing also calls for shared custody and a parenting plan to be established for Poppy.

It described the marriage as irretrievably broken and asked that a prenuptial agreement, signed about a month before their April 21, 2017, wedding be validated and enforced. The prenuptial agreement was sealed.

McIlroy's attorney was listed as Thomas Sasser, the same attorney who represented Tiger Woods when his wife divorced him in 2010.

Rory McIlroy’s communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed.

They stressed Rory's desire to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible. He will not be making any further comment.

The world number two was seen for the first time yesterday since the news broke, during a practice round for the US PGA Championships, at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.

The golfer arrived on the driving range, just minutes after the breaking news, staring straight ahead as he practiced shots.

The news will come as a shock to the golfing world where Ms Stoll is often seen cheering her husband (35) on during tournaments.

However, she was notably absent from the sidelines at the Masters in Augusta last month.

In another sign that something was amiss in recent days, Mr McIlroy paid tribute to his mother at the weekend for US Mother’s Day, but did not mention the mother of his daughter Poppy.

Erica had already been very involved in the golfing world before she met Rory as she had been working for the American PGA since 2008.

The pair first met in 2012, while she was working for the PGA in America.

The golfer overslept and was almost late for his crucial tee-off time at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medina when Erica noticed that he had not left for the course and woke him up, ensuring he got a police escort to rush him to the course.

However, it would be two years before their relationship blossomed into romance. Erica grew up in New York and graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a marketing degree.

The four-time major champion and Stoll kept their relationship largely private. They wed in 2017, with more than 200 guests attending the sumptuous ceremony at the 350-acre Ashford Castle estate.

The A-list guests included Coldplay’s Chris Martin and One Direction's Niall Horan. There were also show-stopping performances from Ed Sheeran and Stevie Wonder, who alongside a 15-piece band, performed "Isn't She Lovely" for the newlyweds.

In August 2020, Erica gave birth to their first child, Poppy Kennedy McIlroy. Speaking to the Irish Independent, the sportsman opened up about Erica. He explained: "We met when she was working for the PGA of America, and renting a condo in Palm Beach, and I found it refreshing being with someone who was living a normal life rather than, 'Oh! My jet is 30 minutes late!' I could speak to her about anything, we ended up spending a bit of time together and realised that there was something more there. I love that she knows everything about me, and there was no judgement there. There was no judgement from day one, which is huge, because that's very hard to find for someone in my position."

A few months after getting married, McIlroy bought a sprawling mansion in the golfer's paradise of Jupiter, Florida. The incredible €10m pad boasts 12,800 square feet of space, seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.

Nestled in The Bear's Club, a community founded by fellow golf legend Jack Nicklaus, the property was previously owned by another, Ernie Els.

Erica had been happy to stay out of the limelight and away from the cameras.

She no longer works for the PGA and she had been traveling the world by her husband's side, supporting him at a number of major tournaments. She even acted as his caddie in the 2018 Masters Par-3 Contest for the first time.

Erica was seen at The Players in March when the PGA Tour shared a clip of her greeting Rory with Poppy on the 18th green. The golfer was seen scooping his daughter into his arms for a hug with Erica telling him they had been watching his birdie-birdie finish.

McIlroy’s last major relationship split was made public at Wentworth in May 2014 when he confirmed he had separated from former tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, just months after they had announced their engagement.

But it had no effect on his golf as he went on to win the BMW PGA that week and enjoyed his most successful season of his career to that point.

Not only did he win The Open at Royal Liverpool the following July, but he also won in his next two starts, capturing the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone and the PGA Championship at this week’s venue, Valhalla, bringing his major tally to four.

At the time it looked as though the pair were well on their way to becoming sport’s power couple.

For three years they were frequently spotted cheering each other on at sporting events.

But months after popping the question, McIlroy suddenly called off their engagement in an alleged three-minute call, which Wozniacki was said to have initially believed was a joke.

It had started off so promising and, up until three months before their split, the couple appeared rock solid.

In February 2014, a week before their first Valentine's Day as a husband and wife-to-be, Rory had an airport stopover and decided to scroll his social media page.

A beautiful brunette, a golfer at a US college, decided to grab the opportunity to see if he had a change of heart.

"Are you serious about the whole engagement thing? Because I am single and available," she teased. Flattered, Rory reposted the comment to his two-million strong following and replied that he was "very serious”.

He then jetted off on a five star romantic break with the tennis star to Monte Carlo.

The couple had also sent several hundred wedding invites out when Rory suddenly made the decision to end their romance in May 2014, before their wedding that November. Wozniacki was said to be "absolutely devastated".

Friends said a photograph posted by Caroline on Twitter/now X, which showed her boyfriend in a deep sleep, was one of the final straws for the golfer.

A source at the time said: "Rory was very upset by it and even Serena Williams pointed out – albeit, in a joking way – it was a pretty mean thing to do."

Rory's first romance was with Holly Sweeney. The pair met as young teenagers at Holywood Golf Club and dated on and off for six years.

'She knows me better than basically anyone else in this world does, apart from my parents. And someone like that with you is very grounding,' Rory said of Holly in the 2011 documentary Rory's Major Breakthrough.

Sweeney spoke of her heartbreak following the split in 2011, saying then that she was devastated and alleged the golfer had left her for Wozniacki

"It was Rory that ran away with Caroline (Wozniacki) - not the other way around - so I guess I blame Rory, or both of them if I'm totally honest," she said at the time.

However, within months of breaking off his engagement with Danish tennis star Caroline, Rory had found love with Erica.

The report of his split with Stoll comes amid a difficult time for McIlroy after his attempt to return to the PGA Tour Policy Board was vetoed.

Earlier this month, McIlroy said his post-Masters break to work on his "mental and emotional well-being" was totally necessary as he admitted golf has "totally consumed my life for the last 12 months".

McIlroy will tee off from the 10th tee at Valhalla on Thursday with former Masters and US Open champion Dustin Johnson and former US Open winner Justin Rose at 8:15 am local time (1.15 pm Irish time) before playing from the first at 6:40 pm Irish time on Friday.

Associated Press golf writer, Doug Ferguson and Associated Press writer, Terry Spencer, in Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.