Wyndham Clark Found the Perfect Way to Shut Everyone Up at the U.S. Open

Wyndham Clark heard it from the crowd throughout Sunday’s final round at the U.S. Open. | Erick W. Rasco/ Sports Illustrated

Wyndham Clark had more to battle at the 2026 U.S. Open than just the many challenges that Shinnecock and Mother Nature had to offer over four days. The 32-year-old from Denver faced something that we don’t normally see at our national championship—lots and lots of fans who were not only rooting against him, but also willing bad things to happen almost every time he hit a shot.

An American player being so rudely chirped by American fans at the U.S. Open was wild to witness, and cast a dark cloud over what should have been a very fun final round at such a historic golf course.

Winners and Losers From the U.S. Open: Wyndham Clark Survived, While Fans at Shinnecock Embarrassed Themselves

You have to give it up to Clark, who time and time again found the perfect way to shut up all the haters that made the trip all the way out to Southampton, N.Y.—by making big shots when he had to and winning his second U.S. Open in dramatic fashion.

Nobody would have been surprised if all the jeering brought him down. Instead, he fought through it. His biggest moment on Sunday came on the par-5 16th hole when his tee shot landed in the left rough. Faced with a horrible lie in the fescue, it felt like that might be the hole that could cost him a win. It felt like it might be the time that the fans would get to celebrate even more.

Instead, the villain got out of trouble and made an unbelievable 24-foot putt for birdie that gave him a two-shot lead and, more importantly, a cushion to work with over the last two holes.

While Clark was pumped after the win, one wouldn’t fault him if he were a little disappointed by how he was treated by fans, especially in the final round. After one approach shot into a green, a few fans could be heard immediately yelling for Clark’s ball to fall into a bunker. Other times, fans cheered wildly when he missed a putt.

Just listen to the crowd’s reaction when this chip shot didn’t make it to the green:

Wyndham doesn't reach the green.

Ball rolls back down the hill. pic.twitter.com/rDW7Mwp3OJ

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 21, 2026

The whole atmosphere at Shinnecock made the final round a tough watch. Fans have every right not to pull for Clark, or any other player, but yelling things at him and cheering loudly after bad shots was pretty classless. NBC said on the broadcast that a few fans were ejected for yelling at Clark, which shows you just how bad things got out there.

After his win, Wyndham Clark addressed the hostile situation with the fans rooting against him

The reason so many fans don’t like Clark is that he threw a fit in the Oakmont locker room at last year’s U.S. Open and damaged a few lockers. He has apologized multiple times for doing that and addressed the situation again during his interview on NBC after winning on Sunday.

MORE: Wyndham Clark’s Sweet Post-Win Moment With His Dad

“New York didn’t really like me, I love you guys,” Clark said of the unruly fans at Shinnecock. “But you know, I get it. Some of it is self-deserved. I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret and I’ve been sorry multiple times and I’m still sorry so hopefully I can win you guys over eventually.”

He later had more to say during his press conference.

"They definitely didn't want me to win,” Clark said. “It's pretty rare in an (U.S.) Open Championship or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots. That was tough, but I also like—sometimes being the underdog is nice. I was in '23, and I kind of did the same thing. Anytime someone said something negative to me, I replaced it with something positive. You know, some of it's self-deserved. I kind of brought it on myself, but I also get it, too. Scottie was going for the career Grand Slam, and it hasn't happened very often. I'm proud of myself that I battled through. Things really could have gotten away from me. I stood tough. I would have liked to have won by more, but as long as you win, it doesn't matter."

Scottie Scheffler, who played alongside Clark on Sunday, had this to say about the way the crowds acted throughout their round:

"The crowd was tough today,” Scheffler said. “I mean, New Yorkers, they are tough people. There was a good turnout from the fans. 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. That felt a bit much to me. Being in the arena is not for everybody, and I think it shows a lot about Wyndham, how he handled not only this golf course, but I think the crowd today as well, and is a well-deserving champion."

Why so many fans don’t like Wyndham Clark

Clark’s popularity rightfully took a huge hit last year when he took out his frustrations of missing the cut on some of Oakmont’s historic lockers. He broke two of them and then later seemed more upset about photos of the destroyed lockers getting out on social media rather than taking accountability for his childish actions.

Here’s what those lockers looked like after Clark was done with them:

https://t.co/DdClg8952U pic.twitter.com/b1bkezlT9B

— Tron Carter (@TronCarterNLU) June 15, 2025

A month before that at the PGA Championship, Clark had a dangerous moment on the course when he threw his driver so hard after a bad tee shot that it put a dent in a sign behind the tee. He was lucky that he didn’t hurt a volunteer who was standing close by.

Wyndham Clark just about smoked a volunteer (and a TrackMan) with this club throw. The driver broke. pic.twitter.com/3F49IekMdP

— Golf News Net (@GolfNewsNet) May 18, 2025

What Clark did at Oakmont last year was awful, and he deserved to be shunned by fans. He has made it clear that he regrets what he did and would love to have that bad moment behind him. It was clear all week at Shinnecock, however, that many fans were not ready to put it behind them (as if they’ve never made any mistakes in their lives that they regret).

Clark played the role of the villain this week, and now he’s leaving town with the trophy. In the process, he showed everyone the best way to deal with haters: don’t let them get to you. Instead, put your head down, take care of your business and then smile while telling everyone that you hope to be friends one day.

If that doesn’t work, just enjoy winning a U.S. Open. Because that has to feel pretty darn good.

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