Wyndham Clark was public enemy number one at Shinnecock Hills.
In some of the most bizarre scenes in major championship history, we saw the New York fans actively rooting against Clark as he tried to win his own national open for the second time.
All of his big moments were met with eerie silence, as the fans cheered his mistakes and heckled him for 18 holes.
Clark’s behavior over the last few years has made him an unpopular figure on the PGA Tour, most notably when he damaged the locker rooms at Oakmont after missing the cut at the 2025 US Open.
Since then, he’s tried to restore his reputation, but that clearly hasn’t worked.
Wyndham Clark says if the fan behavior at the US Open bothered him
The difference between Clark and the other golfing villains of years past is that Clark clearly wants to be liked. He’s been trying to appeal to fans since his Oakmont incident, and it clearly hasn’t worked.
His reception at the US Open was a far cry from when he first teed off at the Travelers Championship, where Clark is playing a week on from his victory at Shinnecock Hills.
Before the event, he compared the two experiences, “For the Travelers, I mean, that was almost more of a whirlwind than winning a U.S. Open because it’s your first tour start, first time doing media, it’s your first time being on a tour truck, and people, signing autographs.
“I remember when they announced my name, and there was actually a crowd clapping. There was hundreds of people on the tee box. You don’t really get that in college golf. It was nerve-wracking. I didn’t make the cut. I was nervous. And I’m like, Man, this tour golf, these guys are shooting so far under par, and I was over par.
“The rough was challenging, the pin placements were a lot closer to the edges than I was used to. So it took some adjusting to it. But it was an amazing first start because this course is so much fun and the atmosphere here is one of the best on tour.
“Then as far as perception, yeah, I mean, I’m not going to lie, it’s not great to be disliked. But I’m just going to continue to be the person I am.
“Because I know who I am, and I think people will hopefully see that I’m not that guy that — I’m not the person that did those terrible things last year at Oakmont. Hopefully, over time, people actually believe that and become Wyndham Clark fans again.”
Wyndham Clark expected to receive kinder reception at the Travelers Championship
Clark’s reception at the US Open can be seen as an anomaly. The event was in New York, where the fans are hostile at the best of times.
And it was in the US Open, one of the biggest events of the year, where casual fans are expected to show up, and perhaps not follow the usual golf etiquette. This week won’t be the same.
The crowd at TPC River Highlands at the Travelers Championship is usually far kinder and more encouraging, so Clark will likely get the reception he wanted at Shinnecock Hills this week instead.
If he doesn’t, then he’s even more disliked among golf fans than he even thought.
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