Paige Spiranac is coming to Rory McIlroy’s defense following a choppy U.S. Open showing over the weekend.
In a message shared Sunday on X, the longtime golf influencer, 32, offered her take on the reigning Masters champion bypassing the media recently.
“Might be an unpopular opinion here but he doesn’t have to talk to the media if he doesn’t want to. It’s not required. And why would he when everyone is always analyzing and criticizing his every move,” Spiranac wrote after McIlroy met with the media at Oakmont, where he finished tied for 19th at 7-over par.
“There is clearly something more going on none of us are privy to so maybe let’s not all pile on.”
McIlroy, just two months removed from completing golf’s Grand Slam with his Masters triumph in April, ducked the media after shooting a 4-over 74 in the first round at the Pittsburgh-area course on Thursday.
Two days later, the five-time major champion finally spoke with reporters, where he not only expressed he’s “felt a little flat” since reaching the sport’s mountaintop, but vented his frustration with the media.
“I have been totally available for the last few years, and I’m not saying … maybe not you guys, but maybe more just the whole thing,” McIlroy said.
The Northern Irishman, 36, made headlines before last month’s PGA Championship when his driver was deemed non-conforming and he did not meet with the press at all during that major at Quail Hollow.
He did not address the driver drama with the press.
“I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do,” McIlroy said Saturday.
Despite the lackluster weekend at Oakmont, which saw J.J. Spaun capture his first career major win, McIlroy is motivated to close out the final major of the season on a high note in his home country.
The 2025 Open Championship begins at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland on July 17.
“I climbed my Everest in April, and I think, after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down, and you’ve got to look for another mountain to climb,” McIlroy said. “An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.”
McIlroy last won The Open in 2014 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in the U.K.
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