by Justin Doyle
Furthermore, a month before this in September, the media ran stories that Rory was out dining and dating Irish model Nadia Forde in Dublin after his afternoon meeting with former US President Bill Clinton. But she was quoted as saying: ‘Rory is in a relationship and I’m single – very single.’
I may be wrong but this is what I actually believe went on between McIlroy and Wozniacki. Caroline was doing poorly in events while Rory hit a woeful patch from very early in 2013 and was under severe pressure using Nike clubs.
Perhaps the two met and agreed that they had to cool things down and stop all their jet-setting for the sakes of their careers, which were suffering. They probably agreed to meet on special occasions or when Caroline would be playing nearby in the States.
So even though the couple agreed on this, when they cooled their tweets and meetings the media smelt blood. When the media went into overdrive, and the attention became unbearable, Rory and Caroline were panicked into showing that they were still an item.
They eventually resumed tweeting and, in time, they would meet up again at various events. And the biggest proof that they were still very much together came when Caroline won the Luxembourg Open.
Just five days after my pleas to so many media people here – and to my sources in Denmark who stated correctly that there was no split – Rory McIlroy sent his girlfriend a very loving message of congratulations for the entire world to see.
On 21 October, the day after Caroline won her first ranking event for a year, he tweeted: ‘#21 #luxembourg #mygirl @CaroWozniacki.’ – 21 is the number of titles she had won. ‘My Girl’ finally forced the media into total and absolute submission. A stunned silence.
Just over two months later, Caroline and Rory spent their third successive Christmas together. It was going to be one of the happiest festive seasons of their lives and not just because Caroline won a title in October and Rory won the Australian Open in November.
Those wins put the smiles firmly back on their faces to seal a nice satisfactory end to respective poor seasons. But it was nothing to the smiles that lit up their faces and the whole of Sydney on New Years Eve when he proposed to her. Let Rory tell the story:
I was sweating a lot. I’d an idea she’d say ‘yes’ but you never really know until it actually happens. We were out on a boat in Sydney Harbour for New Years Eve, just in front of the Opera House, and the fireworks were going off. I guess there was a little bit of romance involved, and yeah, she was surprised.
I had an idea it was something she wanted and hoped she’d say ‘yes’ and she did. I’d been thinking about it for a while and I asked her parents in December. If you get engaged you plan on spending the rest of your life with that person, so it’s a big decision. But I feel like she’s definitely the right girl for me.
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The thing is that this was a crucial building block in the redevelopment and reconstruction of Rory Phase two which brought him two majors, a big event at Wentworth and a WGC event.
These wins, by his own admission, were where he ‘played the greatest golf of my life.’ There will be a Rory Phase three and Phase four because the bottom line is that Rory’s form will dip again in the future.
When it does he will have to change something and sometimes that means a huge sacrifice. I believe that one such sacrifice will be the parting of the ways with his caddy J P Fitzgerald.
The thing is, this should bear no slight on J P. He is actually a top class, first rate, A1 Caddy.
Chapter 12
The Split
Date: 21 May 2014
Time: Early morning
Location: Dublin City, Ireland
Means: Electronic message (Email/Fax)
Subject: Rory McIlroy Statement
There is no right way to end a relationship that has been so important to two people.
The problem is mine. The wedding invites issued at the weekend made me realise that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails.
I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves and thank her for the great times we have had. I will not be saying anymore about our relationship in any setting.
Date: 21 May 2014
Time: Afternoon
Location: Wentworth Golf Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, South of England
Means: Pre BMW Championship Press Conference
Subject: Rory McIlroy takes questions on shock news
Michael Gibbons: Well, Rory, many thanks for joining us. I’m sure everyone here appreciates you coming in today. We’ve all seen your statement this morning so I’m just going to hand it over to you to start us off.
Rory: Yeah, obviously quite a difficult time for Caroline and myself, and I think the statement really said it all this morning. It was mutual and amicable and we both thought it was the best for us, the best for both of us. Time to move on and I think I’ve said all that I need to say. Just want to get my head into golf this week and concentrate on the tournament and try and do well. Been playing well. The form’s been good. Just want to dive straight into it and keep myself somewhat busy and just try and have a good week on the course.
MG: Thank you. We’ll take some questions.
Q. Realistically, how possible is that going to be to be able to concentrate on your golf?
R: I’m not going to lie. It’s going to be very difficult. But you know, at least when I get inside the ropes, just try and concentrate on the shot at hand. But yeah, it’s obviously going to be difficult.
Q. Were you tempted to pull out at any stage because of this, because it can’t be easy with so much turmoil going on even though you’ve perhaps become almost used to it over the last 18 months, haven’t you?
R: No, I didn’t think there was any reason to do that. There’s no good time to sort of end a relationship I guess. No, I just – I made a commitment to be here. It’s your European Tour’s flagship event. I’m very proud to be part of the European Tour. The European Tour have been very good to me over the last number of years, and I thought it was my duty to come back and play in this event. You know, once I gave my word that I would, I wasn’t going to go back on it.
Q. Will this have any effect on your schedule in the next month or so? Might you play more events now?
R: I haven’t – I don’t know. My schedule right now is here, Memorial and U.S. Open, Irish Open, Scottish Open, British Open. I don’t think that’s going to change.
Q. You had that sort of double-delight in Sydney last year, winning the Australian Open and also being on Sydney Harbour when you proposed to Caroline. How tough a decision was it for you?
R: Look, I think I’m no different than anyone else. Everyone has been through break ups and it’s obviously very, very difficult. But look, I’m here to try and concentrate on this week and answer questions about golf and that’s what I’m going to do.
Q. At least you’re at a golf course that you love [laughter follows].
R: [Laughs back].
Q. Can you just talk about your history at Wentworth?
R: Yeah, look, I’ve enjoyed my times here. I think it’s a beautiful golf course. I’ve got great memories of the place from coming back and watching the World Match Play in the early 2000s as a kid. I’ve struggled on the course personally since they made the changes. I’m trying to go in this week with the mind-set of not getting frustrated and not – just trying to play to my spots and not be frustrated that I might only get to hit driver two or three times a round and feel like my advantage of my length is taken away from me. I’m just going to try – you know – just accept that you’ve got to plot your way around this golf course and not be overly aggressive. And that’s really what I have to try and do – just sort of reign it in a little bit. But it’s a great event. It’s always well supported by all the Europeans that come back and play on the PGA Tour. It’s the European Tour’s flagship event. BMW are a great supporter of golf around the world, and this tournament deserves the best players and the best field, and it g
ets that. You know, hopefully I can put in a performance that’s a little better than it has been the last few years.
Q. I think you were saying on the previous Sunday, the same kind of thing about Sawgrass, learning how to play the course. Same thing applies here?
R: Yeah, exact same thing. I think it’s a very similar, the style of golf that you need to play here is very similar to the style of golf you need to play around Sawgrass. Again you don’t get to hit many drivers at Sawgrass. You have to be not cautious, but just you have to position your ball in the right spots and just be patient. I feel like I’m getting better at that. I had my best finish at Sawgrass a couple weeks ago, a couple of top 10s in a row there, which is a big improvement. As I said, hopefully this week I can do something similar.
Q. How much have you looked forward to today’s Pro-Am pairing?
R: Yeah, it’s going to be nice. I’ve been a Manchester United fan my whole life, and getting to play with three Manchester United legends [Phil Neville, Peter Schmeichel and Teddy Sheringham] is going to be a nice afternoon. I remember watching the Champions League final in ‘99 when United beat Munich in Barcelona, and it was a very memorable night. Obviously all those three guys were involved, and yeah, it’s going to be a nice afternoon.
MG: Rory, I’m sure everyone joins me in wishing you well, thanks.
Date: 22 May 2014
Time: Mid morning
Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Means: Twitter Message (Tweet)
Subject: Caroline Wozniacki’s first response
It’s a hard time for me right now. Thanks for all the sweet messages! Happy I support Liverpool right now because I know I’ll never walk alone.
Shock! That is the very first thing to say about the sudden split. Even though the media had speculated wrongly on a breaking up the previous year, this took the world completely by surprise because of the beautiful New Years Eve engagement in Australia.
I certainly felt sad and I still do. I do not know why as I’m no soppy romantic. Perhaps it was because they were such good friends who wore their hearts on their sleeves. Despite mega money and wealth, they really loved being free and ordinary like the rest of us. That probably reflected similar sentiments to others who were actually at the press conference. The Irish Independent’s greatly respected and hugely experienced golf writer Karl MacGinty captured the mood brilliantly:
This was an incredibly courageous effort by the 25-year-old whose sombre demeanour, heavy eyes and solemn words left absolutely no room for doubt about his heartache.
As Rory left the interview, an American lady from the New York Times added her sentiments saying:
How impressive was that. Everyone knows how hard it is to break up and there were moments when I wanted to go up there and give him a hug.
Rory was genuinely gutted. There is no doubt about that and the following day the Irish Mirror’s front page captured Rory’s facial expression of biting his chin under a headline:
‘RORY’S AGONY’
So ‘Wozzilroy’ was engraved by Rory on one of his irons to consummate his relationship with Wozniacki. But alas, there would be no engraving of anything on any wedding bands. It was over.
Caroline Wozniacki was really upset. She later revealed that Rory just called her, a short 10 minute phone call, to end it. She felt hurt and betrayed that their great friendship whittled down to that.
But she should know that Rory cried buckets of tears too. Maybe he even cried over a much longer period than she realises. It tore the heart out of him to do that. If you want proof of it, just look at his emotional press conference before the PGA at Wentworth.
McIlroy does not feign or put on emotions. What we have all grown to love about this genius is the fact that he wears his heart on his sleeve. He had ‘to be cruel to be kind’ for both their sakes.
He could not arrange to meet Caroline to end it because it would have been too emotional and galling that they would probably not be able to end it together. It was a cruel way to end it from afar but ultimately, this really was for the best for both of them.
Over the course of the following months they would reap enormous benefits from their new found freedom. They entertained the world for two years and let us be honest – we all loved watching the pair popping up in photos in the most exotic places and in sport.
Did we not marvel at Caroline in a white caddy suit carrying the bag for Rors at our proud Irish Open? Did we not love that moment where she asked Rory to come on court in America and have a few tennis shots with her – or the putt she sank at Augusta?
They were a breath of fresh air and a beautiful young couple. Top level professional sport and business can be cruel. However, when their careers finish, the love that was suppressed for the good of their careers will rekindle and flow again in a different sense.
Over many years into the future, many memories will flood back into their separate lives. Their lovely honest hearts will flutter at the thoughts and feelings behind those images until the day they die.
In the short term, their love will remain strong in an altogether new setting. They will feel a deep fondness, gratitude and pride for inspiring each other to greatness that would follow for both.
After the shock had sunk in with an obviously distraught Caroline, and the cold sobering thoughts that this was very real, she had to do certain things in the coming days and weeks which must have torn at her heart.
The invitations to a lavish wedding at New York’s Rockefeller Centre which she was preparing to send out, together with the £100,000 gold engagement ring Rory put on her finger, were put away in some obscure place where the sun never shines.
And then there was one final act. All her photos of Rory, in her homes and on her Twitter and Facebook pages, along with tweets and messages and cuddly toys and travel mementoes, had to be taken down.
Of course the speculation then went into overdrive on the part of the media. There were all sorts of reasons put forward as to ‘why’. Some bordered on the ridiculous while some were quite plausible and possible.
Perhaps the silliest reason put forward for their parting, in my view, was the photo Caroline posted of Rory beside her on a beach resort. It was a less than complimentary photo of him, while she and good friend Serena Williams had a right laugh over it.
Apparently Rory was not best pleased. To me, it is rubbish to suggest that many months later Rory would be holding that against her to the point of ending their engagement. One thing seems certain – the real reason will be revealed in a future autobiography.
My own personal view is that any one, or all, of three things contributed to their parting. All three are based on actual facts that affect relationships – be it current or past loves or people we know – and which seemed to afflict Rory and Caroline too:
(i) The most important reason was the one which also caused Rory to split on no less than three previous occasions. Call it ‘Betterment of Career’ and you have Rory leaving Holly Sweeney, IMG and Horizon.
(ii) The second reason is ‘Arguments’. It is well known that everybody has disagreements. The saying goes ‘you wouldn’t be a couple if you didn’t argue’. As sure as they had their first date and first kiss, Rory and Caroline also had their first argument (arguments can be silent moods as well).
(iii) Lastly, but by no means least, is ‘No Future’. There is a very true saying: ‘long distance relationships don’t work’.
For the first reasoning, Rory’s career was in the doldrums. Despite halting his slide with that win in Australia, he did not win a major in 2013. With Nike on board, success is measured in terms of majors and rankings so he simply had to be successful – and soon.
In order to get back to winning majors again, Rory had to make massive changes in his life. He had to cut out all the extra baggage of weekends away in exotic locations and that could only mean one thing.
The second reason is that of disagreements between the pair. If you look again at their initial s
tatements on the split, you will see that there is only one common denominator in both – they express love for their respective favourite football teams.
Why, on such an important matter, did Caroline feel the need to put in her love for Liverpool? It was also noticeable how Rory perked up and came alive when he was asked about playing the pro-am with three Manchester United legends.
There seems little doubt both had differences of opinion on matters between their football teams. Manchester United endured a desperate season while Liverpool almost won the Premiership.
To make matters worse, Liverpool did the double over United. At the start of the season they won 1-0 at Anfield and towards the end of the season at Old Trafford, Liverpool humiliated them 3-0.
In a season of woe for Manchester United, Caroline probably had one two many ‘digs’ at Rory and on Twitter. She also seems to have a soft spot for present and former Liverpool players, including fellow Dane, Daniel Agger, as well as Slovakian, Martin Skrtel.
Do not for one moment downplay this. Sport, like politics and religion, can become a very emotive subject amongst people. Furthermore, both football clubs have a history of not seeing eye-to-eye. This transmits to a great majority of their supporters.
On another matter – was there a disagreement regarding wedding guests? Was there a golfer or soccer player who was not flavour of the month with one of them to the point where a serious objection and ‘silence argument’ took place?
Another source of tension could have been time. Rory was jetting all over the world to spend quality time with Caroline. Perhaps occasionally, when he arrived and could not wait to see her, he felt she was not fully giving of her time to him or vice versa.
These are things that happen to all of us and arguments, particularly in the early stages of relationships, are one of the biggest causes of splits. So Rory was also right in what he said, that: ‘I’m no different than anyone else – everyone has been through break-ups’.