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‘A Good Friend and Supporter’: Rory McIlroy’s ‘Class Act’ Towards API Champion Makes Fans Fall Head Over Heels for Him

Published 03/06/2023, 6:18 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

We often get to see great examples of sportsmanship in the golf world. And there was another addition to the list after Kurt Kitayama‘s historic win at the AP Invitational. A video of him and the ‘would-be potential’ winner of the event, Rory McIlroy, is making rounds online. The video will touch your heart as it did for many fans. We rarely see the sweet gesture when it comes to competition. However, the golf world has shared honest reactions to the video.

Rory McIlroy has a big heart

The official Instagram handle of the PGA Tour has shared a heartwarming video of the FedEx Cup winner and the Arnold Palmer Invitational Winner. In the video, he was seen congratulating the winner of the event, Kitayama. He came running to him and said, “congrats, man.” The overwhelmed 2019 Oman Open winner replied, “Thank you. I appreciate it.” The actions of the former number-one golfer were plausible, and the reactions proved it.

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McIlroy was very close to winning the event on the grounds of Bay Hill. But Kitayama swooped in and stole the victory by one shot. Undoubtedly, it was a sad moment for the pro golfer; he missed the win. Despite that, he had no hard feelings for the 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open winner. The fans took note of it and appreciated him.

 

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A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour)

According to the post, the Irish golfer was the first pro to congratulate Kitayama on his victory. The fans were happy about it and said, “Rory is pure class. Love it. Love that he is taking torch from Tiger as PGA face.” His gesture really put him on the pedestal. However, the reactions took a different turn too, when the golf world began to add some negativity. A user pointed it out and said, “rory being a good friend and supporter and people will find a way to hate.”

Did the golf world disapprove of the video?

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Some of the fans were completely unhappy with the video, as they found it “Cringe tbh.” However, some fans appreciated it and said, “He’s the class. He’s not Tiger and he’s not Jack. He’s akin to Arnie. He’s this generation’s class. We are thankful for him. Golf fans are thankful for him.” Another cheer followed, “Rory’s reaction to Kitayama’s putting hanging on the edge was awesome!”

USA Today via Reuters

Some people were not on board with the hype and said, “Stop with the Rory stuff. 😂,” A few fans prompted a debate by saying, “Did Kurt big time Rory here? Jury’s still out…” One fan pointed out a fact and said, “Actually Scottie and Harris did, but if y’all wanna keep fluffing Rory, that’s fine.” However, the reactions drastically turned when a fan called it a stunt. He said, “Classic Rory. Has to do it while the cameras are around. No cameras… probably doesn’t happen.” But some fans focused more on “Kurt almost big timed rory.”

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Did the video touch your heart, or you felt it was overcompensating? Please share your views in the comments below.

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Written by:

Saumya Yashawant

943Articles

One take at a time

A Commerce graduate who turned her passion into her profession, Saumya is a Golf writer at Essentially Sports. Having developed the love for the sport at a very young age, she watched Tiger Woods and caught inspiration from his legacy early on. Apart from Woods, she shares great admiration for her country's players like Vishwanathan Anand and Neeraj Chopra.
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Edited by:

Akash Pandhare

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