Scottie Scheffler did not excuse everything Wyndham Clark heard at Shinnecock Hills, but he also framed it as part of the brutal reality of major championship pressure.
Clark won his second U.S. Open while dealing with a crowd that, at times, seemed louder for his mistakes than his escapes.
That made Scheffler’s post-round comments feel like both sympathy and warning.
Scottie Scheffler calls out Wyndham Clark U.S. Open crowd treatment
A Golf Digest post shared Scheffler’s reaction after he played alongside Clark during the tense final round.
Scheffler said: “I mean, the crowd was tough today. I mean, New Yorkers are tough people. There was a good turnout from the fans.”
He added: “You like seeing the fans cheer for you. I think sometimes it can get a little too much when, you know, balls are kind of going off greens and you start hearing cheers.”
Then came the sharper reality check: “That felt a bit much to me. But at the end of the day, you know, I can’t control fan behavior. Being in the arena is not for everybody.”
The controversy followed reports of fans cheering Clark’s bad shots, groaning when he escaped trouble and shouting at him during the round. Some spectators were reportedly removed after abusive comments.
Wyndham Clark survives Shinnecock hostility to win U.S. Open
The atmosphere did not come from nowhere.
Clark’s reputation had taken hits after previous emotional outbursts, including the locker-room incident at Oakmont, and some fans appeared determined to remind him of it.
Still, the final round asked a bigger question than whether the crowd liked him. Could Clark protect a six-shot lead when everything became uncomfortable?
He nearly let it slip. Sam Burns charged, Clark shot a 3-over 73 and the gap shrank to one late on Sunday.
The decisive response came at the par-5 16th, where Clark recovered from thick fescue and made a 24-foot birdie putt. A bogey at 17 reopened the door, but he steadied himself with a two-putt par at 18.
Clark finished at 4-under, one shot ahead of Burns. The crowd controversy will follow the win, but so will the answer he gave under pressure: he took every shout and still left with the trophy.
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