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One of Amanda Balionis' biggest interviews during the 2024 golf season was with Rory McIlroy. That would go on to be an infamous moment given the rumors between the two, but she hasn't let any of it sour her memory of it or the opinion of any new interviews. That remains true of her family as well.
The golf reporter, who spent the offseason working on the NFL sidelines for CBS Sports, showcased on Instagram a couple of pictures of her family watching the interviews to get to see her in action. She was involved with interviewing last weekend's winner, McIlroy.
In one of the pictures, a young girl can be seen watching Balionis interview the Irish golfer on a computer. Writing about the same in her story she said:
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"Getting these texts with these pics make my whole week!"
Balionis was rumored to be in a relationship with McIlroy last year, while McIlroy was still married to Erica Stoll at the time. The Irishman eventually filed for divorce from Stoll.
Both McIlroy and Balionis denied any such reports, stating that their relationship has always been professional. McIlroy eventually reconciled with his wife and they remain together to this day. Until recently, Balionis didn't have much to do with him since the golf season ended.
McIlroy got back in the win column in his first event of the PGA Tour season. Although he played on the DP World Tour, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which he won by two strokes over fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, was his first PGA action of the year.
Rory McIlroy addresses win in interview with Amanda Balionis
Given the rumored history and everything that transpired in 2024, the interview following Rory McIlroy's win was a bit awkward. Still, McIlroy got the chance to open up to Amanda Balionis on his first win of the 2025 season.
He joked about the public perception of his wins via the Daily Mail:
"Some people would argue that the golf courses I have won on are not up to a Pebble Beach or obviously an Augusta or whatever."
He continued:
"But to win at one of the cathedrals of golf is really really cool. I knew today was gonna be tough, it was gonna be exciting, there were so many guys around the lead. And I guess I had to... with it being Pebble Beach I had to put it to the back of my mind and just go out there and try to shoot a score, which I was able to."
McIlroy shot 21 under par for the weekend, defeating Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler, and more in his first PGA event of the year following a DP World Tour outing.
