Page 3 Profile: Rory McIlroy & Caroline Wozniacki, sport’s golden couple

Rory McIlroy & Caroline Wozniacki, sport’s golden couple (Rex)

Another win for Rory?

Yes indeed. The two-time major winner proposed to tennis star Wozniacki on New Year’s Eve in Sydney – as the pair watched the fireworks –and she said yes. The Northern Irish golfer, who is 24, posted on Twitter shortly afterwards: “Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year!! My first victory of 2014 #shesaidyes!!”. Caroline responded with her own Twitter message, writing: “Happy New Year everyone! Rory and I started 2014 with a bang! … I said YES!!!!”

The new golden couple of sport?

It would seem so. The two are frequently mentioned on lists of the world’s highest paid athletes. In June, Forbes put McIlroy’s earnings for the previous 12 months at $29.6 m, including $16m from advertising contracts, making him the 21st best paid athlete in the world. After his 2011 victory at the US Open, he was widely tipped to become one of the highest earners in UK sport, with golf columnist Bill Elliott predicting “big contracts will now flow Rory’s way”. His new fiancée is named the world’s seventh highest paid female athlete by the magazine, with earnings of $13.6m.

Sounds like they’ve got a prosperous future together...

Let’s hope so. The couple have had a bumpy year, with rumours circulating back in October that they had split. “Yes they are over. It’s a difficult time for them both but it is for the best in the long run,” a source told Ireland’s Sunday Independent at the time.

Ouch. What prompted that?

The split was reported to have come days after Wozniacki posted an embarrassing picture of McIlroy asleep with his glasses on, along with the caption, “Jetlag> Lol!!”.

At the time, Wozniacki was said to be “absolutely devastated” and friends said there was no way back for the pair.

Sounds messy. But everything’s back on track now?

Yes – romance-wise, at least. But it’s been a year of up and downs in the sporting department for both. Although McIlroy won the Australian Open in December, he went through the whole US PGA season without a win.

At one point Nick Faldo, Britain’s best-ever golfer, warned him to “concentrate on golf”. Wozniacki, meanwhile, slipped to number 10 in the WTA rankings and has yet to win a Grand Slam title. Here’s to a new year and a fresh start.