Rory McIlroy Announces the Birth of His First Daughter Ahead of the Tour Championship | Golf news

Rory McIlroy became a father for the first time after his wife Erica gave birth to a baby girl earlier this week.

McIlroy revealed during the BMW Championship that he had “been waiting for the call” due to the impending birth, and Poppy Kennedy McIlroy arrived at lunchtime Monday.

The world No. 4 is expected to play in this week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta, which begins Friday, although he canceled his pre-tournament press conference.

After his third round at Olympia Fields on Saturday, when the news of his wife’s pregnancy broke, McIlroy hinted that he might miss the PGA Tour season finale.

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“Definitely, just depending on what happens,” he said when asked about staying home this week. “I’m going to play in many more tour championships and it will only be the birth of your first child once. That beats anything else.”

McIlroy announced the birth via social media and thanked the staff at Jupiter Medical Center in Florida, describing her daughter as “the absolute love of our lives. Mother and baby are doing great.”

He is scheduled to play alongside Brendon Todd in Friday’s first round at East Lake, beginning at 6:30 p.m. BST and both starting the tournament three-under-seven behind FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson.