Niall Horan has backed Brendan Lawlor after the Dundalk golfer hit back at "nasty" comments he received online.
The world No 2 disability golfer has a rare condition called Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, which is a bone growth disorder that leads to shorter limbs and stature.
He is the first disability golfer to compete in DP World Tour and Challenge Tour events and was recently mocked online after playing at the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan.
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Speaking in a video as he responded to the comments, Lawlor said: "I got a beautiful start in Japan, had a fabulous week, and the DP World Tour shared a video which went viral. It got some amazing feedback, real positive, but unfortunately it got some real negative.
"I just wanted to get on and highlight how bad the negative was and, if you weren't in the frame of mind to take this negativity, of what it could do to people.
"I'm lucky enough where my condition has never affected me. I've grown up all my life with negative comments and I blew them off with the breeze, but I wanted to hop on and highlight these comments for other people.
"Disability people are putting themselves out there now on a platform, DP World Tour are sharing videos, and I don't want these guys to get slandered online with nasty comments.
"It's going to happen anyway, but we've broken down so many barriers in the world of golf and I feel this was the opportunity for me to highlight this barrier and maybe overcome this one as well.
"These guys are putting themselves out there for other people to put themselves out there and it's a roll-on affect. We're trying to get more disability people into sport in general and I just think the comments are damaging.
"I'm all for equality of opportunity and that's what we're showcasing on the DP World Tour. I hope we can go further and comments like this don't affect our players and people in general."
Sharing the tweet from Lawlor, singer and huge golf fan Horan, wrote: "So proud of you."
Lawlor is set to compete at the inaugural G4D Open from May 10-12, which features 80 of the world's most talented golfers with disabilities.
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