Rory McIlroy makes heartfelt promise to wife Erica Stoll and daughter Poppy after chaotic year

Rory McIlroy admits he is excited to put the golf clubs away and spend more time with his wife, Erica Stoll, and their daughter, Poppy, after a difficult year for the family on and off the course.

McIlroy finished the season in style on Sunday, winning the DP World Tour Championship and securing his sixth Race To Dubai title in the process. It was McIlroy’s fourth win of the season – a great return for almost any professional golfer on the planet – but it could have been so much better, suffering agonising second-place finishes at the US Open, Irish Open and BMW Championship.

The missed opportunity at Pinehurst No. 2 in June was particularly painful, giving up a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau down the stretch to prolong the Ulsterman’s 10-year wait for a major championship victory.

Off the course, it has also been a challenging year. On the eve of the PGA Championship in May, McIlroy announced he and Stoll were pursuing a divorce after seven years of marriage. His court papers said their relationship was “irretrievably broken”.

A month later, however, the couple announced they had reconciled their differences. He said in a statement: “Erica and I have realised that our best future was as a family together.”

It was a wholesome scene on the 18th green at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course on Sunday after McIlroy held off the challenge from Rasmus Hojgaard by two shots. The 35-year-old was joined for pictures by Erica and four-year-old Poppy.

McIlroy was emotional as he sat down in the DP World Tour’s diary room for his closing thoughts on a memorable week. “To have Erica and Poppy here, it means a lot,” he said.

“It’s the first one they’ve been at in a while and for Poppy to be old enough now to sort of understand what is going on. I had to ask her if I did win, would she come out onto the 18th green with me?