U.S. Open 2024: Major champion defends Rory McIlroy after Pinehurst defeat, begs people to ‘be kind’

PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA - JUNE 16: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks to the green with his caddie Harry Diamond on the 15th hole during the final round of the 2024 U.S. Open Championship on the No.2 Course at The Pinehurst Resort on June 16, 2024 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

The talk and backlash have been unsurprisingly harsh after Rory McIlroy lost a two-shot lead with five holes to play Sunday at the U.S. Open, then sped away after Bryson DeChambeau’s winning putt dropped. From the predictable social-media chaos to some pointed media criticism, takes and emotions have been boiling over ever since McIlroy’s short miss on the 72nd hole that cost him a chance at victory.

This is how sports work, especially in our modern age, but Shane Lowry wants everyone out there to take a second and think about just how far this has gone. He sent a heart after McIlroy’s post-major statement and even put out a message of his own.

MORE: McIlroy WDs from Travelers, says U.S. Open loss was the 'toughest day' of pro career

“From the outside looking in… this game is easy,” Lowry wrote. “But in reality it’s the worst game of all. 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.

“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 ☘️”

Matthieu Pavon, who finished in fifth place Sunday, echoed Lowry’s sentiments in the Instagram comments adding “Nicely Said Shane 👏” Many others agreed with the 2019 Open champion’s point stating that “athletes are people too” and that McIlroy “will be back better than ever.”

Lowry's message reiterates what Harry Higgs said back in May after emotion death of Grayson Murray, in which Higgs called for everyone listening to "say something nice to somebody you do not even know."

“The world is difficult and only getting more difficult," Higgs said after his Visit Knoxville Open win last month. "Everybody here could be a difference, the difference. Brighten up somebody’s day, it could mean the world.”

Lowry and McIlroy, European Ryder Cup teammates who have known each other since they were junior golfers, have stuck up for one another again and again over the years, and this Lowry statement is just the most recent example. There’s no doubt McIlroy will be back and in the mix for majors soon enough; he said as much himself after the brutal loss.

“The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient,” McIlroy wrote. “I've shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again. 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. See you in Scotland.”