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We’re sure that Paige Spiranac has broken her fair share of hearts, but the blonde bombshell is throwing her support behind a devastated fellow golfer: Rory McIlroy.
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McIlroy nearly had a U.S. Open win wrapped up on Sunday, holding a two-stroke lead with five holes to go, before faltering late in his final round. The Northern Irishman carded three bogeys — including a heartbreaker on No. 18 — on the final four holes to end the tournament at 5-under par.
McIlroy could only watch on a clubhouse TV as Bryson Dechambeau made a par putt on the 18th hole to capture his second career U.S. Open and major championship.
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After Dechambeau sank the putt, McIlroy quickly left the premises at Pinehurst, taking off in a car and refusing any interviews and media interactions.
While some were not fans of McIlroy’s quick exit, Spiranac didn’t see anything wrong with the mentally drained golfer’s departure.
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“Hot take but I don’t care when athletes do this,” Spiranac commented with a video of McIlroy’s getaway. “He gave us everything he had on the course and gave us such an entertaining day.
“I feel for Rory right now and can’t even imagine how he’s feeling,” she continued. “Cut him a break.”
While the popular golf influencer was OK with Rory’s Irish Goodbye, some of her followers disagreed.
“Rory needs to put on his big boy pants,” one user on X replied.
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“No. Professional athletes need to hold sportsmanship as a highest value. Jack Nicklaus finished 2nd in 19 majors. Never once ran to his car and drove off,” another wrote.
One user commented that if the outcome was reversed, Dechambeau would’ve stuck around.
“Bryson would have shook Rory’s hand if he lost instead…we know this because he went up to Xander and congratulated him at the PGA Championship,” they wrote.
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DeChambeau himself felt for McIlroy after the late-round collapse.
“For him to miss that putt (on 18), I would never wish that on anybody,” DeChambeau said after his round.
“I think that fire in him is only going to continue to grow. He’s going to win more major championships.
‘’I have nothing but respect for how he plays the game of golf because, to be honest, when he was climbing up the leaderboard, he was two ahead, I was like, Uh-oh, uh-oh. But luckily things went my way.”
The agonizing loss was just another letdown for McIlroy, whose drought at major tournament’s nears 10 years. His most recent triumph in the marquee events came at the PGA Championship in Aug. 2014.
This time around, McIlroy stunningly missed putts from two-and-a-half feet on the 16th hole and from four feet on the 18th.
McIlroy has been under intense scrutiny in the tabloids recently after filing for divorce last month. After filing papers which claimed his seven-year marriage to Erica Stoll was “irretrievably broken,” rumours surfaced that the golfer was dating CBS commentator Amanda Balionis.
The reports of the romance with Balionis were fueled by the chemistry between the two during interviews and interactions, but ultimately dismissed.
However, McIlroy announced last week an about-face in his divorce plans, reuniting with Stoll and ending the saga.
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