OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Golf might have to take a backseat momentarily for Rory McIlroy, even if $15 million is on the line.
McIlroy revealed Saturday that he and his wife, Erica, are expecting their first child any day now.
“We’re about to be parents very soon, so we’re obviously super excited,” he said. “Yeah, we’ve been sharing the news with friends and family, obviously, but I didn’t think it was something that I really particularly needed to share out here. It’s a private matter, but we’re really excited and can’t wait for her to get here.”
While playing in the BMW and the Northern Trust the past two weeks, McIlroy has been waiting on a call to come that his wife is heading into labor. He plans to leave to be with his wife the moment that call comes. Depending on the timing, McIlroy potentially could miss the Tour Championship in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend, when the winner gets $15 million.
“Just depending on what happens,” McIlroy said. “I’m going to play in many more Tour Championships and it’s only going to be the birth of your first child once. That trumps anything else.”
McIlroy acknowledged that the waiting and anticipation of the birth of his child has impacted his focus on the course. He finished tied for 65th at the Northern Trust tournament last weekend and he’s currently tied for sixth place, just three shots off the lead heading into the final round of the BMW Championship on Sunday.
“Not so much the first few weeks, but the last couple of weeks, when you’re sort of — you’re going out to play and maybe not knowing whether you’re going to finish the round or not,” McIlroy said. “Look, it’s definitely not an excuse. I just haven’t played well enough. But again, it’s a nice — I keep talking about perspective. If you do play bad, I’ve got some awesome stuff coming up on the horizon, which is really cool, and it makes the bad days a lot easier to handle.