Wyndham Clark’s US Open was not met by the soundtrack we’re accustomed to at a major championship.
Instead of rapturous applause and roars from the crowd, the biggest moments of Clark’s final round were met with indifference, at best, and heckling at worst.
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It was jarring to see an American playing in the US Open with the crowd against them, as fans in the gallery willed Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns to victory. Anyone but Clark, was the mentality.
This made for a strange environment for the final round of a major championship, and one that was bound to affect the other players in the field.
Photo by Kate McShane/Getty Images
Scott Van Pelt reveals what he texted Brian Harman after Wyndham Clark’s US Open win
The reception the New York crowd gave Clark at Shinnecock Hills didn’t sit well with golf’s traditionalists, who are well accustomed to fans giving courteous support to every player in the field.
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Scott Van Pelt was among those traditionalists, and he texted Brian Harman after the US Open to discuss the fan treatment. He broke down how he felt about Clark’s treatment on the SVPod.
Van Pelt said, “What he did at Oakmont was acting like an a——. Don’t trash one of the most revered locker rooms in America. Then people would much prefer an apology that feels like he genuinely feels sorry, because we grade apologies as well.
“We are grading the sincerity of it. According to Brandel Chamblee, who talked to Bob Ford, who is the pro at Oakmont, he said, ‘We have long since moved past that, we are good’. So if they are good, the place whose club it was, not people online who act like he came to your house and s—- in your oven, it’s kind of wild to me.
“I don’t excuse it. I don’t. But if he apologized and tried to put it behind him, he is just playing golf now. If you don’t want to root for him, that is one thing. In my life, I have never seen this. I have never seen a road game for an American player who is a champion of the event like this in my life.
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“I was texting Brian Harman and said you had a worse road game at The Open, where famously there were people chirping at him, because they did not want this guy from America who kind of did the same thing and went at won The Open from way out in front. That made people front.
“But this was an American on his own soil who has won the championship. Taking the social media aspect into it, it’s hard because they just act like the worst versions of themselves.
Unfortunately, that turns into people acting like social media folks in real life. That’s what it felt happened this last week.
“People say it’s a sporting event, you can do what you want. I guess. But I don’t know, I have been doing this quite a long time, and it’s not what golf has ever been. If that is what golf is going to turn into, I’ll tell you, the players are like, this is not what any of them are hoping it becomes
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“Scottie played in the group with him and he’s like this was pretty tough, they are rooting for balls to go off the green and cheering for shots to go in bunkers. I have just never, ever seen it like that.”
Scottie Scheffler’s reaction to Wyndham Clark’s treatment at the US Open
The players didn’t shy away from expressing how uncomfortable they were with the crowd. Scottie Scheffler spoke at length about how he thought the fans were a ‘bit too much’ in how they treated Clark.
Speaking after his final round, Scheffler said, “I mean, the crowd was tough today. 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.
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“But at the end of the day, I can’t control fan behavior. Being in the arena is not for everybody. You know, there’s been crowds that have been for me in my career; there’s been crowds that have been significantly against me in my career.
“I think Portrush was a scenario for me where Rory is in his hometown. Or not his hometown; he’s in Ireland, not far from where he grew up. Crowds can be tough.
“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.”
It seems Clark earned the respect of players everywhere by battling through that environment, and winning his second US Open title.
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