Who will be queen of The Open Championship? Erica Stoll recently joined her husband, Rory McIlroy, in the Royal Box at Wimbledon
Karwai Tang
The ‘paddock princesses’ have elevated Formula 1 into a travelling catwalk of pitlane-worthy glamour. But they’re not the only stylish plus-ones bringing sartorial flair to the international sporting stage.
Enter: the wives and girlfriends of golf’s biggest stars, who this weekend will descend upon Royal Birkdale, Merseyside, for The Open Championship. Action gets underway on Thursday and will continue into Sunday when one man will emerge victorious.
Like Formula 1, golf has benefitted from ‘the Netflix effect’ with its behind-the-scenes docuseries, Full Swing, bringing the sport to a new audience. The two sports have plenty in common: multi-million pound prize pots, individual superstars and hotly-contested competitions held in glamorous locales. Golf might not criss-cross the globe but its tournaments are held within the rarefied realms of exclusive country clubs.
So, who to look out for at The Open this weekend? Leading the golfing WAGs will be Erica Stoll, the wife of Rory McIlroy. Their meet-cute is something from a Hollywood movie. It was the 2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah, Illinois, and New York-born Erica was one of the PGA employees responsible for making sure the players were where they needed to be. McIlroy was in danger of missing his tee time – until quick-thinking Stoll sprung into action and arranged a police escort to the course.