“I feel for Rory right now and can’t even imagine how he’s feeling,” expressed Paige Spiranac in consideration of the Northern Irishman after his unfortunate finish at the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy had also received a lot of flak from the community owing to his abrupt departure from the course. That’s not all. The 4-time major champ has gone ahead to withdraw from the upcoming Travelers Championship as well. And it is Shane Lowry, this time around, who has come forward in support of the golfer.

The 4-time major champ revealed his intention to pull out of the elevated event just hours ago while citing mental health reasons. The 37-year-old fellow Irishman, meanwhile, shared a tweet on his X handle urging the fans to “be kind” to McIlroy, all the while divulging the difficulty of playing the game.

Shane Lowry comes out in support of Rory McIlroy

Lowry pointed out how the sport of golf is not what it seems. “From the outside looking in… this game is easy,” said the three-time PGA Tour champ. “But in reality, it’s the worst game of all.” He also dubbed a lot of golfers, including himself, as lucky before divulging how he came to a realization; “We are very fortunate to get what we do from this game but over the last 24 hours it’s hit me. We do it for not only ourselves but for our family, friends, and fans.”

Lowry then expressed his support for McIlroy while calling for kindness; “What Rory has gone through is as tough as it gets in our game but I would like to encourage people if anything please be kind.” The golfer was leading the scoreboard at Pinehurst when he, unfortunately, missed two of his putts at the par-4 16th and the par-4 18th.

The missed shots, in turn, proved vital for both Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, the latter of whom managed to push past the Northern Irishman to claim the top spot at the table. The runner-up finish marked the 4-time major champ’s 7th top-10 finish after 2014, the year in which he won the last two of his four majors.

Not everyone had been so kind to the 35-year-old McIlroy following his U.S. Open loss and the sudden exit. Neither did they mince any words while mocking the golfer for his recent withdrawal from the upcoming elevated event, the 2024 Travelers Championship.

McIlroy’s withdrawal from the 2024 Travelers Championship

“Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer,” mentioned Rory McIlroy in his statement. He then went ahead to praise and congratulate DeChambeau for the win before conveying his plans to take a break from the sport owing to mental health reasons; “I’ll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day. … I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon.”

It truly seems like the recent close finish by the 2014 Open Championship winner did touch a sore spot in the golfer. Well, it’s not a surprise seeing as how Rory McIlroy has been without a major win for a decade now. Even so, one can’t help but agree with Spiranac when she complimented the athlete for his performance at the U.S. Open; “He gave us everything he had on the course and gave us such an entertaining day,”