Wyndham Clark was the most unpopular person in Shinnecock when he won his US Open.
His round on Sunday bore witness to scenes we have never really seen before. His biggest moments were met with insulting indifference, and his misfortunes greeted by rapturous applause.
Clark has clearly become public enemy number one in New York thanks to his series of incidents from years past.
He lost his cool at Quail Hollow last year and dangerously threw his club behind him, and at the 2025 US Open he damaged the locker room at Oakmont after missing the cut.
Clark said during this year’s tournament that he hopes to win back the opinion of fans, but he’s clearly a long way away from doing that. But is it possible for him to achieve this in the future?
Rex Hoggard says in Wyndham Clark can win fans over after US Open win
Clark has been on somewhat of a PR tour in recent months. He seems to be making a deliberate effort to win over the fans, even wearing an American hockey jersey at the Canadian Open to playfully tease the fans.
But speaking on the Golf Channel podcast with Rex and Lav, Rex Hoggard thinks it will be difficult for him to get back into the good graces of golf fans.
He said, “I think some fans will probably look at this performance and identify it for what it was.
“A very gutsy performance by a player that you should probably go out and cheer for. And I’m going to say the same thing I think we said on Sunday night’s podcast when he kind of came close in Canada, and he didn’t get there.
How did you feel about the New York crowd's treatment of Wyndham Clark?
“And I think you and I both sort of batted around the idea that maybe he’s a villain. Maybe he likes the idea. He doesn’t want to be, quote, “I don’t want to be the heel of the PGA Tour.” And I understand that. And there are those, and I always go back to Patrick Reed, maybe unfairly, but there are plenty of players that are okay with that.
“They’re okay with the idea that sure, come at me. I’ll have fun with this. I’ll absolutely enjoy this. We’ve seen it time and time again from top players from Europe when they come over here to play the Ryder Cup, and Americans when they go overseas. It is interesting to me that, through everything he has been through, he doesn’t want to be that guy.
“And yet last week in Canada, this is what brought the conversation up. He had no problem putting the American jersey on because he thought it was playful. He didn’t realize that it was going to get this reaction from the crowd.
“So I think to answer your question, some people are going to be swayed by this. Some people are going to realize that very talented guy, maybe a little bit on the emotional side and maybe makes decisions that aren’t the best from time to time, but worth cheering for.
“Others, however, are probably going to look at what happened last week in Canada and think to themselves, ‘This guy wants the heat. This guy wants the shade. I’m gonna give it to him.’”
There’s a percentage of fans that will always dislike Clark, but at least he earned their respect with a gutsy performance in Shinnecock.
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