Long Island golf fans were taken to task on Monday by longtime golf reporter Eamon Lynch for their conduct at the U.S. Open over the wekeend.
“The PGA of America is supposed to go back to Bethpage in 2033 with the PGA Championship. That should not happen. These people do not deserve a major championship,” Lynch said bluntly on the Golf Channel this morning.
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His comments came after several fans were ejected from the U.S. Open for berating eventual winner Wyndham Clark during his final round on Sunday afternoon. Even Clark’s playing partner Scottie Scheffler thought the crowds were doing a bit too much on Sunday.
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Shinnecock, N.Y.: Golfer Rory McIlroy walks by spectators during the second practice day of the 2026 U.S. Open PGA Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Southampton, New York, on June 16, 2026.
“The crowd was tough today. I mean, New Yorkers, they are tough people,” Scheffler said afterward. “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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Lynch suggested golf in its entirety should adopt the same model as Augusta National, which doesn’t allow patrons to have access to their phones and has strict rules for patrons who attend the tournament.
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For his part, Clark accepted the role of underdog and embraced the fact that the fans were cheering against him.
“Man, they definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark said. “It’s pretty rare in an Open Championship or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots … Yeah, I mean, that was tough, but sometimes being the underdog is nice. I was in 2023, and I kind of did the same thing.”
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In spite of the crowd, Clark walked away with his second U.S. Open trophy.
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