10 The Open Championship stars’ weddings: Tiger Woods’ $1.5m Bahamas blowout, Rory McIlroy’s A-list guestlist & more

The Open Championship 2023 is well underway at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England, and some of the world’s best golfers are competing to take home a share of the $16.5 million purse – with the winner alone bagging a staggering $3 million and the coveted Claret Jug.

No doubt cheering on the likes of Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, and more are their supportive wives. So, in honor of their unwavering encouragement during the major championship, we’re taking a look back at their unforgettable wedding days.

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Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky – the daughter of former hockey star Wayne Gretzky – tied the knot on April 23, 2022 – nine years after their engagement – during a lavish outdoor ceremony held at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. The bride looked stunning in a light ivory diaphanous gown with a plunging neckline and back designed by Vera Wang that boasted 100,000 hand-embroidered Swarovski crystals and mini glass pearls.

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Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas exchanged vows with his longtime girlfriend, Jillian Wisniewski, in November 2022. The couple said ‘I do’ in front of an intimate gathering of close friends and family in Franklin, Tennessee. Jillian looked beautiful in a white, fishtail gown that featured a floor-sweeping train and a cut-out back. The couple managed to keep their wedding secret for months before E! News presenter, Jason Kennedy, shared photos of their special day online while revealing he officiated the ceremony. The couple got engaged in 2021 after dating for five years.

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Rory McIlroy
rory mcilroy and wife erica mcilroy© Ross Kinnaird
Rory and his wife Erica have shared no wedding photos
Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll married in April 2017 in front of celebrity guests including Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin, Jamie Dornan, and Niall Horan. The wedding took place at Ashford Castle in County Mayo, west Ireland, which at the time cost 100,000 euro a day. Stevie Wonder is said to have performed at the nuptials with an 18-piece band, while Ed also serenaded the newlyweds.

The couple has not shared any photos from their wedding and were so adamant about keeping their nuptials private, they block-booked the entire five-star, 350-acre estate, hired drone experts to detect unsanctioned drones over the castle, and put security teams on boats on Lough Corrib.

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Brooks Koepka

Brooks Koepka and his bride, Jena Sims, eloped to Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean for their June 2022 wedding, which featured several days of fun activities including a pre-wedding beach party. They exchanged vows at the Amanyara Hotel and Jena looked breathtaking in a sparkling strapless gown that boasted a thigh-high slit. As a special touch for Brooks’ wedding suit, she had the jacket lined with photos of herself posing in white lingerie.

For the reception – which featured entertainment from rapper, Ludacris – Jena changed into a white, feathered mini dress and she and Brooks wore custom Bride & Groom Nike Air trainers.

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Jordan Spieth
jordan spieth with wife annie verret and son on golf course© Getty
Jordan Spieth and his wife Annie Verret have kept their wedding photos private
Jordan Spieth married his high school sweetheart, Annie Verret, over Thanksgiving weekend in Dallas in 2018. The couple have remained tight-lipped about their big day and have not shared any wedding photos online.

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Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler married his high school sweetheart Meredith Scudder in a ‘Winter Wonderland’-themed wedding at Arlington Hall in Dallas, Texas, on December 4, 2022. Meredith wore a flowing white, tulle dress by Martina Liana that had a sweetheart neckline and a floor-length veil. In keeping with the time of year, the venue was decorated with Christmas lights and white and pastel flowers – Scottie even donned a Santa hat. Upon leaving the celebrations, the newlyweds were fittingly whisked away in a golf cart.

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Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm wed his college sweetheart Kelley Cahill – who stunned in a white ombre gown with a lace bustier – on December 13, 2019, at his childhood church in Bilbao, Spain. Speaking ahead of their special day, the golfer said: “I think when I see those doors open and see her walking down the aisle for the first time, I think it’s going to be what I’m looking forward to the most”. He later shared photos from their wedding on Instagram, calling it “the best day of my life”.

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Shane Lowry

Irish golfer Shane Lowry and his wife Wendy said ‘I do’ a week after he competed in The Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. The couple flew to New York City to tie the knot at City Hall in front of an intimate group of family and friends on April 12, 2016, four years after they met during a night out in 2012. Wendy looked incredible in a vintage-inspired dress by British designer, Stephanie Allin, that fell to her ankles to show off her pink embellished heels.

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Adam Scott
Adam Scott and his wife Marie Kojzar posing red carpet pga tour© Con Chronis
Adam Scott and his wife Marie Kojzar had a low-key wedding
Australian golfer Adam Scott had a very low-key wedding, secretly tying the knot with Swedish architect, Marie Kojzar, in the backyard of his Bahamas home on April 17, 2014. The couple didn’t even have an engagement and went straight for a ceremony, with the bride wearing a simple dress and the groom in a suit with a bow tie. “We just decided to get on with it. We’ve known each other long enough, let’s go and jump right in the deep end,” he told Australian Associated Press at the time. “She doesn’t need a traditional wedding dress to look so beautiful. We dressed up a little bit, but it was still in the backyard”.

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Tiger Woods
tiger woods red carpet ex wife elin nordegren 2004© Andrew Redington
Tiger Woods and ex-wife Elin Nordegren’s wedding was top secret
Tiger Woods isn’t playing in The Open and he’s no longer married to his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, but their wedding day was so spectacular, it deserves a mention. The former couple exchanged vows during a sunset ceremony on October 5, 2004, at The Sandy Lane resort and golf course in Barbados that reportedly cost a whopping $1.5 million. The venue was decorated with over 500 roses that he had specially imported to the island, and Hootie and the Blowfish were the evening’s entertainment alongside a fireworks display.

The golfer – who is recovering from surgery on a plantar fasciitis injury – made sure no uninvited guests spoiled his big day by renting out all the 200 rooms in the hotel, which range in price from $700 to $8,000 a night. He also hired the island’s only helicopter charter company to prevent photographers from flying over the ceremony and had sheets of plywood and a crane hoisting large plants blocking views of the event.

His privacy measures worked a treat as no photos from the wedding were leaked following the ceremony. Among the 120 guests invited to the lavish nuptials were Oprah Winfrey and former NBA stars Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.