Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll met under some unusual circumstances.
During the 2012 Ryder Cup, McIlroy mistakenly believed he was in the eastern timezone instead of central. It caused him to oversleep by an hour and put him in danger of missing his tee time. Luckily, Stoll was there to save the day.
Stoll, then working for the PGA of America, noticed McIlroy’s absence and worked with tournament officials to arrange a police escort to ensure he made his tee time. McIlroy went on to win his singles match against Keegan Bradley and helped the Europeans win the Cup.
McIlroy and Stoll’s relationship was platonic at first, but the two eventually started dating in late 2014. By 2017, they were married. Six years later, the two have one daughter, Poppy.