Rory McIlroy has filed for legal separation after seven years of marriage, according to court records in Palm Beach County, Florida, a surprising development leading into the PGA Championship.

McIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll, had a fairy tale meeting during the 2012 Ryder Cup, began dating two years later, and tied the knot in 2017. They share a daughter, Poppy, born in September 2020.

TMZ first reported the filing, which occurred on Monday. However, there are no immediate details available from the petition for dissolution of marriage.

McIlroy's legal representation is Thomas Sasser, the same attorney who represented Tiger Woods during his divorce in 2010.

"Rory McIlroy's communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed. They emphasized Rory's desire to ensure this challenging time is handled as respectfully and amicably as possible," said a statement from his manager, Sean O'Flaherty.

He added that there would be no further comment at this time.

McIlroy was seen at Valhalla on Tuesday. It has been years since his last major win, which was at Valhalla in 2014 for the PGA Championship. His pre-tournament press conference was scheduled for Wednesday.

McIlroy and Stoll's relationship began under unusual circumstances. She was working for the PGA of America in 2012 during the Ryder Cup at Medinah in the Chicago suburbs, where McIlroy nearly missed his Sunday singles match due to forgetting about the Central time zone.

Stoll arranged for a police escort to Medinah, and McIlroy barely made it in time. He went on to win his match against Keegan Bradley as Europe rallied for victory.

At the time, McIlroy was dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. They got engaged just over a year later, but McIlroy abruptly called off the engagement over the phone.

Shortly thereafter, he began dating Stoll. They got engaged in 2015 and married later that year.

McIlroy filed for divorce the day after winning the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, his second consecutive PGA Tour victory and the 26th of his career. When asked if he planned to go straight to Valhalla on Sunday night, McIlroy replied, "I'll probably head home and just kind of reset, then go to Louisville tomorrow evening or Tuesday morning."

The divorce filing comes amid turmoil in golf caused by the launch of Saudi-backed LIV Golf. McIlroy has been a prominent figure in the discourse over the past few years, initially criticizing LIV harshly and then changing his stance to advocate for some form of reconciliation.

He resigned from the PGA Tour board last November and was involved in a deal to rejoin the board by replacing Webb Simpson. However, this move faced opposition from other player directors. Instead, McIlroy was appointed to a committee negotiating with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia over potentially becoming a minority investor.