Rory McIlroy’s divorce battle could be over before it’s even begun after his estranged wife blew through a deadline to respond, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Erica, 36, was served the papers at her Florida home on May 13 and given the state’s standard 20-calendar day window to lodge her answer.
But she missed Sunday’s cutoff and hasn’t filed anything at all since then, an official with the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office.
That leaves Erica, the mother of McIloy’s three-year-old daughter Poppy, at risk of having the court grant the superstar golfer a default divorce. If a default is entered, the case can continue without participation by the defaulted party.
The case would then continue without her having an opportunity to contest the Irishman’s May 13 petition which describes their seven-year marriage as ‘irretrievably broken.
McIlroy was in Kentucky preparing for the PGA Championship when the summons was delivered to Erica at their sprawling Jupiter mansion.
His petition asked for shared parental custody of their little girl and asked for a judge to enforce a prenup agreement the couple signed prior to their 2017 wedding.
The paperwork handed over to her by Carl Woods, a Palm Beach cop who runs a process serving business, warned: ‘You have 20 calendar days after this summons is served on you to file a written response to the attached petition with the clerk of this circuit court.
A phone call will not protect you. Your written response including the case number given above and the names of the parties, must be filed if you want the Court to hear your side of the case.
‘If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case, and your wages, money and property may thereafter be taken without further warning from the court.’
McIlroy spent this past weekend competing at the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.
After finishing tied for fourth Sunday he was spotted hugging CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, 38, as they wrapped up an interview about his performance.
Balionis is married to football coach Bryn Renner but has been spotted recently without her wedding ring, leaving golf fans wondering just how close she and McIlroy have become.
The bubbly blonde also interviewed the four-time major winner on May 12 at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, which he won by five shots. Court records show McIlroy digitally signed his divorce petition three days earlier. Neither have addressed the speculation publicly but an unnamed source told Us Weekly they weren’t dating.
When news of his divorce first emerged, McIlory’s manager Sean O’Flaherty said in a statement: ‘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.”
McIlroy, whose career earnings on the PGA Tour total nearly $87million, first met New York state native Erica during the 2012 Ryder Cup while she was working for the PGA of America. He missed his alarm but she helped him make his tee time at Medinah in Illinois by arranging a police escort. They began dating several months after he abruptly called off his engagement with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014.
Another source close to the tour, meanwhile, claims that McIlroy has been ‘super focused on golf’ as he attempts to end his decade-long wait for another major. ‘Plus, he put his blood, sweat and tears into defending the PGA against LIV golf the last two years and it was basically for nothing,’ the source told People. ‘He’s just trying to find himself, focus and get back to winning,’ the source says.
