Rory McIlroy set for UK return as construction of new family home complete
The Co Down sports star revealed building work on the property near the Wentworth Club in Surrey is now finished meaning it is ready for the champion to move in with his wife Erica Stoll and their daughter Poppy.
The couple told the Daily Telegraph that they bought a plot of land in the exclusive private estate which lies less than an hour and a half west of central London – which explains why Rory's private jet landed in Farnborough Airport before he came home to NI last month.
'Straight after Augusta we travelled over to see the house as it was going through the finishing touches,' he told the publication.
'It was fun to see and we could have stayed in it, but we wanted to get over to Holywood.'
Rory emerged from his Gulfstream G650ER – commonly known as a G6 – after it touched down at Belfast City Airport to allow him to visit his parents five days after defeating Justin Rose in a nail-biting play-off at Augusta National.
The victory saw him become the sixth man to win all four of golf's Majors.
Rory is set to move to the new build after the US Open at Oakmont in June.
While he has no plans to sell his southern Florida mansion, which he uses as his US base when competing in tournaments there, Rory did hint at the possibility of making his new pad a permanent abode.
He will have a major tournaments to get through, including the PGA Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, before moving day.
Erica – a native of upstate New York – did not enjoy the heat in Florida and made her desire for a cooler climate known.
Netflix docuseries Full Swing featured a clip of German golfer Martin Kaymer speaking to Rory and recalling bumping into his wife.
'I saw her at a Starbucks once, and she said 'I really don't like the sun'. I said 'your state's called the Sunshine State, right?''
McIlroy replied: 'If it was up to her, she wouldn't move to England straightaway, but she definitely wants to spend more time there.'
The couple went through a rocky patch last year which resulted in Rory serving Erica with divorce papers.
However, he quickly called off the split.
Following a brief homecoming trip last month, Rory gushed about how 'amazing' it was to go home and explained that he didn't want 'any fanfare'.
'I tried to keep it as private as possible. I just wanted to see my parents and the people closest to me, including Michael [Bannon, his coach].
"We had a really nice few days.'
'With my dad, I never get that emotional but it was great to see him. Then when I saw my mom − yeah, we were both a mess for a few minutes. As time goes on and I'm getting older, I realise that they're not going to be around forever and it means even more that they were still around to be able to see me fulfil my dream.'
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