Even though Rory McIlroy’s young daughter sank a pretty impressive shot at the 2025 Masters, she had a few concerns when the video went viral.
At the professional golf event, McIlroy’s 4-year-old daughter Poppy hung out with him and showed off some of her golfing skills as fans looked on. After Poppy hit the golf ball, it slowly made its way into the hole, earning her a loud cheer from the crowd and a big hug from her dad.
Now, McIlroy says that his daughter had one thought after hearing the loud cheers from the crowd.
“She got super-overwhelmed. I don’t think she anticipated the loud cheer, so she got a little overwhelmed. She started to cry a little bit,” said McIlroy while appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, May 1.
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Related: Rory McIlroy’s Daughter Poppy, 4, Makes an Impressive Putt While Hanging Out with Dad at the 2025 Masters
“So I picked her up, and then when we got back to the clubhouse, she wanted to see the video,” the proud dad continued. “So, she looked at it and she’s studying it. And she looked at me and she went, ‘It’s okay Dad. I don’t think they caught me crying.’ That’s all she was worried about.”
“Poppy, you did so well. You were fantastic, Poppy. Congratulations. That was so cool!” Fallon affirmed.
McIlroy shares his daughter with wife Erica Stoll.
David Cannon/Getty
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland holds the Masters Tournament Trophy with his daughter Poppy and his wife Erica Stoll
At a press conference for the 2025 Masters hosted at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, the Irish professional golfer told the story of the moment his daughter Poppy realized she didn’t have the average dad. McIlroy shared that while it’s “really cool” he can now share this with his daughter, it’s also “a little scary” at the same time.
“I think it was the first time that she sort of realized what I did, which was really cool [and] also a little scary at the same time,” he said at a press conference. “It’s amazing that I can share these things with her and with Erica.”
“The day after the Players, she went into school, and there’s a couple of kids that had said some stuff to her, and she came home to me that day and said, ‘Daddy, are you famous?’ And, I said ‘It depends who you talk to,’ ” he shared. “So, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword. You have to temper the expectations sometimes, but she’s … an amazing addition to life and it’s great that she’s here this week.”
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