Rory McIlroy has 'awkward' interview with Amanda Balionis months after divorce drama
'It’s nearly impossible to beat a perfect Sunday at (the AT&T Pro Am) and my goodness were we lucky to experience exactly that today'
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Rory McIlroy kept it cool on the golf course this past weekend — and also kept it cool in another pressure-packed situation with a ton of eyes watching: The post-tournament interview.
The Northern Irishman, who went through some well-documented divorce drama last year, was interviewed in the winner’s circle by the woman rumoured to have been the third wheel: Amanda Balionis.
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And while they never were actually dating – that juicy rumour was shot down – many couldn’t help but think that it was a little awkward seeing McIlroy speaking to CBS Sports reporter after he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday.
While being interviewed by Balionis, the Northern Irishman played it cool, praising the beautiful golf course.
“To win at one of the cathedrals of golf is really, really cool,” McIlroy said of Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. “I knew today was going to be tough, it was going to be exciting, there was so many guys around the lead, and I had to, with it being Pebble Beach, I had to put that to the back of my mind and just go in there to shoot a score, which I was able to, but really cool to have that walk up to 18, sort of take it all in, was very cool.”
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McIlroy, 35, beat Irishman Shane Lowry by two strokes to capture the win. He told Balionis that the victory “is a really cool way to start the season.”
He added: “I’m just as determined this year as I have been in any of the years I’ve been out here on the PGA Tour and to get this win this early, it means a great deal. Hopefully, keep the momentum going into Torrey Pines in a couple weeks time.”
Balionis later posted photos of the interview to her Instagram page, along with other highlights from the past week.
“Win number 27 (!!) for (McIlroy) and one he’ll remember for sure. As a golf history buff, you know putting his name on this trophy is meaningful as is a win to kick off 2025,” Balionis wrote. “It’s nearly impossible to beat a perfect Sunday at (the AT&T Pro Am) and my goodness were we lucky to experience exactly that today.”
McIlroy and Balionis had been romantically linked last year after the four-time major winner announced that he and wife Erica Stoll were planning to divorce.
Shortly after the romance rumours emerged, US Weekly confirmed the golf star and the journalist “only have a professional relationship.”
That didn’t stop many users on social media from chiming in on the pair appearing on-screen together Sunday.
“This is EMBARRASSING to watch these two after the debacle last year off-course,” one user replied to the video.
Another user wrote: “Sexual tension” with a stock-up emoji.
“Always awkward to see your goomah after you back to your wife,” a third user commented.
After a few whirlwind weeks in the tabloid headlines, Mcilroy and Stoll scrapped their plans to split and reunited. They have been married since 2017 and share a four-year daughter together.
Balionis married football coach Bryn Renner in 2022, though they reportedly have separated and she has appeared without her wedding ring for about a year now.
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