THE BEST golfers that Europe and the USA have to offer are gearing up to face down in the Ryder Cup.
The teams will meet at Bethpage Black in New York, with the Europeans hoping to retain their title from 2023’s edition in Italy.
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Team Europe captain Luke Donald has made his picks to battle Keegan Bradley‘s US team over the three-day event.
And the most vocal among the stars’ travelling support will be their most loyal fans, their wives and girlfriends.
From college meet cutes to nightmare weddings, these golfing other halves have been with their loved ones through thick and thin.
Erica Stoll
Rory McIlroy has been in a highly publicised marriage with American beauty Erica Stoll since 2017.
The golfing power couple met in 2011 while Stoll was working as manager of championship volunteer operations for the PGA at the Ryder Cup, adding an extra layer of meaning to the competition for Europe’s star man.
The marriage came under threat when the pair shocked the world in May of 2024 when McIlroy filed for divorce from his wife of almost eight years.
However, in June he withdrew the petition saying the pair, who have a daughter called Poppy together, had reconciled.
He said: “Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realised that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.”
Things had clearly settled down for him by the start of the new year, with McIlroy having an absolute flyer of a 2025 season which peaked when he spectacularly won the Masters and notched an incredibly rare career Grand Slam.
The pair have plans to relocate to a new home near London after spending the majority of their relationship together in Florida.
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Kelley Cahill
The best paid man in golf, Jon Rahm, is married to his college sweetheart, American Kelley Cahill.
The pair met at a halloween party at Arizona State University, where the Spanish golfer studied on a golf scholarship.
The pair tied the knot in 2019, with Rahm telling golf.com that he designed some of the ring himself.
He said: “I designed what’s around the ring. It’s supposed to look like a crown and an engraving inside. It’s a little more personal like that.”
The couple have three young children together, Kepa, Eneko, and Alaia, who was born last September.
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Kate Phillips
Masters runner-up Justin Rose is married to London-born former international gymnast Kate Phillips.
The pair met in 2000 through PR company IMG, who Phillips worked for and of whom Rose was a client.
They got married in 2006 and have since had a son and a daughter together.
Rose reportedly plays with No. 99 on his ball because Phillips has a special bond with the number nine.
Per GolfWeek, he said: “My wife’s lucky number was always 9. She was born on the 9th of March. When we got married I figured double the luck, 99.”
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Katherine Gaal
Former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is also in a relationship with an American, Katherine Gaal.
The former beauty queen and Miss New Jersey runner-up tied the knot with the English golfer in October 2024.
The blonde beauty is certainly supportive of her man, and revealed on her Instagram earlier this year that she marks his golf balls with messages ahead of tournaments.
She showed herself writing notes such as “MF is cute” and “I love you” in bright red marker on the balls.
“It’s just like a special way for me to get involved,” the former Bay Head Yacht Club Tennis professional said of the habit.
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Shannon Hartley
Robert MacIntyre is in a relationship with girlfriend Shannon Hartley.
The pair choose to keep their relationship under wraps, with Hartley appearing sparingly at events and on MacIntyre’s Instagram.
She relocated with him when he moved to the US for the 2024 golf season, but the pair have reportedly since returned to the Scot’s hometown of Oban, Scotland.
She could be seen dancing joyously to Scottish tunes with MacIntyre on his Instagram following his 2023 Ryder Cup victory.
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Olivia Peet
Swedish golf star Ludvig Aberg‘s girlfriend is Manchester-born Olivia Peet.
Peet is the daughter of former tennis pro Chris Peet, who was ranked in ATP singles and doubles.
Olivia caught the same bug, and played collegiate tennis in the US for Texas Tech, where she met Aberg.
The duo came to the fore when Aberg, 25, made his debut at the last Ryder Cup event in 2023, just months after turning pro.
Despite some of his finest moments coming against team USA, the European couple call it home, and have a house together in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
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Julie Sander Danielsen
Rasmus Hojgaard’s private life remains mostly hidden, but as of last year he appeared to be in a relationship with Julie Sander Danielsen.
The fellow Dane has been pictured alongside the 24-year-old golf star at some of his events.
He features heavily on her Instagram account going as far back as 2019, suggesting they have known each other for at least six years.
Wendy Honner
Former British Open champion Shane Lowry is married to his Irish compatriot Wendy Honner.
The pair married in 2016 and, like Aberg and Peet, took up residence in Florida.
They have two young daughters together, Iris and Ivy, with the family regularly travelling back to their native Ireland.
Honner is a former nurse, with Lowry visiting and becoming an ambassador to her old place of work, Temple Street Children’s hospital, following his British Open win in 2019.
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Emily Braisher
Buckinghamshire native Tyrrell Hatton is married to Emily Braisher, with the pair bringing their big personalities to the LIV golf tour since he made the switch in 2024.
Braisher, a graduate of Nottingham Trent University, chose to follow Hatton on his golf travels following the end of her studies in 2020.
She created the ‘Wife On Tour’ blog to document her adventures with her partner, but updates have become rare of late.
The pair got married in 2021, but Hatton revealed that the days events were not the smoothest as he turned up half an hour late to his own wedding, before the weather scuppered the couple’s plans for a scenic hike and photoshoot.
“Our driver turned up an hour late, so that meant we arrived half an hour late for our ceremony.
“After finishing the ceremony, it absolutely p***ed down with rain, and we then had to drive like two miles down the road, pulled over in a lay by, and we had our wedding pictures on the side of the road.”
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Paige Dean
Austrian Sepp Straka is married to Paige Dean, a trained accountant who reportedly works as a senior acquisitions manager for a veterinary practice.
The 32-year-old met Straka, like so many others on this list, during their days at college, but rather than camaraderie, this relationship was born out of rivalry.
The pair met in 2017 as Straka’s University of Georgia golf team came up against Auburn University, where Dean was studying, and they were introduced to each other through mutual friends.
Straka finally popped the question in late 2020 in a wine bar in Birmingham, Alabama, and the happy couple tied the knot the following year.
They welcomed a son, Leo, in December 2023, but have kept him out of the spotlight when possible.
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Clare Craig
Tommy Fleetwood is married to Clare Craig, who also acts as his agent and is 23 years his senior.
The pair were reportedly introduced through Fleetwood‘s brother, with Clare working in sports management at the time and becoming his manager before their romance bloomed.
They tied the knot in 2017, and have one child together, Frankie, born that same year, as well as two children from Craig’s previous relationship.
The 57-year-old was at first resistant to Fleetwood’s advances, telling him “don’t be stupid,” and she has previously spoken about her initial fear of what people would think about their age gap.
However, eventually Fleetwood and Craig, from Liverpool and Manchester respectively, got together, and they now live as a family in the United Arab Emirates.
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