Rory McIlroy Revealed How Wife Erica Stoll, Daughter Poppy Prepared Him for Masters

Rory McIlroy took a historic lead into the weekend at the Masters, and it was his wife and daughter who helped with some unusual preparation for the tournament.

The reigning champion took a six-stroke lead into play on Saturday, the largest two-day lead in Masters history. McIlroy revealed that he had been preparing for weeks leading up to the tournament at August, with wife Erica Stoll and daughter Poppy playing a role.

Rory McIlroy’s Day Trips to Augusta

Speaking to reporters on Friday, McIlroy revealed that he took a step back from other tournaments ahead of the Masters so he could focus solely on Augusta — with some special time carved out for his wife and daughter.

“I honestly just don’t like the three tournaments leading up to this event,” McIlroy said, via The Guardian. “I’d rather come up here.”

Though it was a two-hour trip each way for McIlroy to travel from his home in Jupiter, Florida, to Augusta in next-door Georgia, he said it was worth the effort and the long days.

“I did a couple of day trips like that where I felt it was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio,” he said. “It wasn’t really about conserving energy, but just I felt the more time I could spend up here, the better.”

After leaving his daughter at school, McIlroy said he hopped on a private jet to Augusta National to stay familiar with the course where he won his first Masters last April. After the grueling day, McIlroy said it was important for him to unwind by spending time with his wife and daughter.

“I did a couple of days where I dropped [daughter] Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with Poppy and [wife] Erica,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy added that the time he spent on the course was invaluable as he prepared for the Masters.

“I’ve been on this golf course so much the last three weeks,” he said. “That has been a combination of practice and chipping and putting around greens, and then just playing one ball and shooting scores and ending up in weird places that you maybe never find yourself and just trying to figure it out. I think just spending so much time up here has been a big part of it.”

Rory McIlroy Rolling into Masters

McIlroy revealed in March that he had plenty of strong performances at August during his preparation, including a replica of his famed shot on 15 in last year’s tournament.

“I hit the shot on 15 again, just to replicate it,” McIlroy said.

“I nearly pitched it in the hole. It was actually a better shot than I hit in the tournament. It was actually unbelievable. I wish I could have got it on camera,” McIlroy added. “Like literally, the pitch mark was that close from the hole, and it just sort of went to the back edge of the green.”

McIlroy added that he did other prep work outside of Augusta as well.

“I’m a little stronger this year,” McIlroy joked in March. “I’ve put in a bit of work in the gym.”

Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.

This article was originally published on Heavy Sports

The post Rory McIlroy Revealed How Wife Erica Stoll, Daughter Poppy Prepared Him for Masters appeared first on Heavy Sports.