Rory McIlroy has been called out for pulling a sweet bucket away from wife Erica Stoll while seated in the Royal Box at Wimbledon. A string of golfing legends, among them Luke Donald, Tommy Fleetwood and Edoardo Molinari, were handed the coveted invitation on day three.
McIlroy was joined by his wife of nine years in the front row and was in fine fettle as the traditional bucket of sweets made its way along to his seat. Fellow Ryder Cup star Molinari passed him the green bucket, which happened to match the Masters Green Jacket he was proudly sporting.
When the 37-year-old turned to offer Stoll some sweets, she placed her hand on the bucket and paused to weigh up her choices. However, she clearly deliberated a touch too long, as McIlroy unwittingly pulled the bucket away and began passing it back just as his wife reached in to grab one.
Remarkably, the whole episode was captured by the BBC cameras, with presenter Clare Balding giggling at the delightful moment. “This I think you’re going to enjoy,” Balding teased. “This is a section we’re going to call Wimbledon wildcards and first of all they are handing around the sweets in the Royal Box.
“That’s [Edoardo] Molinari, he hands it through to McIlroy. That’s a nice leather.”
Tim Henman interrupted: “There’s a good supply in that bucket. A few eclairs, a few sherbert lemons.”
View 2 ImagesRory McIlroy took the box of sweets away from wife Erica Stoll(Image: BBC)
Balding jumped back in: “Erica then! She’s just about to take one and he rips it away!” McIlroy remained courtside well into the evening to witness Novak Djokovic defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, and was rewarded with a special mention from the 24-time Grand Slam champion during his post-match on-court interview.
Article continues below
Djokovic said: “Rory, Justin [Thomas], obviously Luke [Donald], it’s nice to see you guys. Congrats Team Europe on the Ryder Cup, I watched you guys. Rory, what a beautiful jacket. Is that a Masters jacket? It must be. Round of applause for Rory for the Masters, please.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook page
“I want that jacket. I’ll play you. This jacket for that jacket, we’ll play tennis! No golf. I want to thank them obviously for being present. I know they arrived early and stayed all day so thank you guys. It really means a lot seeing you here.”