Gallery’s Hate For Clark Crossed The Line

Let me preface all of this by saying the obvious: I am not a Wyndham Clark fan.

The reasons vary from understandable to vague. There were petulant incidents like when he damaged a locker at Oakmont last year or when he nearly hit a volunteer with a snapped driver or when he joked about the Masters Par 3 Contest being a great form of birth control. He didn’t take appropriate accountability—particularly for the damaged locker—until way too late in the game. Even a few weeks ago, Clark was defending his actions on the Pardon My Take podcast, comparing his outburst to how other pro athletes lose their tempers (tone deaf to the max). He was either getting terrible PR advice or not listening to his team.

And then there are other reasons I don’t like him that are harder to articulate and more difficult to justify. This is what you call sports hate. It’s largely fabricated in my mind for entertainment purposes.

He feels like a potential villain based on his tantrums, but he doesn’t lean into the heel role. He still wants to win fans over rather than sticking it to them, which is even more frustrating than him just being a full-on villain. Pick a lane and go down it, man. I don’t like that every shot he hits is a fade. I don’t like his putter, although I’m sure plenty of them will sell this week. I don’t like that his caddie says “good process” right before every shot. I don’t like that he refers to himself in the third person after a bad shot (“come on, Dub”). I don’t like that he had a horseshoe up his rear-end this week with some of the breaks he got. I don’t like that he wanted to “open some grape” (yuck) after winning the Byron Nelson.

As a fan, I just don’t like him, OK? This is a sport, and I don’t need a great reason to dislike an athlete. Y’all can make up your own mind on whether you love him or hate him.

Having said that, the hate Clark received this past weekend is so deeply cringey and over the line.

U.S. Open fans at Shinnecock should be ashamed of themselves

Between last year’s Ryder Cup and this year’s U.S. Open, Long Island golf fans aren’t painting themselves in a good light.

Clark received substantial opposition from fans during Sunday’s final round. Idiots yelling “get in the bunker” after every shot. Dumbasses cheering for his ball to move farther away from the hole. People were getting thrown out of the event for it (good).

I honestly can’t recall this kind of fan reaction towards an American during a stroke play tournament. It’s hard to recall this intense of a reaction towards anyone outside of a Ryder Cup.

I brought this up earlier in the year when Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick got a ton of hate at the Players Championship and the RBC Heritage, but golf crowds are becoming more belligerent over time—and I don’t like it one bit.

I have two things to say here.

This behavior just doesn’t belong on a golf course. I am going to die on this hill, and I feel strongly about it. Yes, these are professional athletes playing for large sums of money. Yes, fans jeer other athletes in other sports.

But there should be a line of decorum in golf. Fans are mere yards away from these guys for five hours at a time, and apparently they have carte blanche to yell whatever inane lines they want. This kind of power doesn’t exist in any other sport. People are abusing the hell out of this and need to be kicked out by the boatload until the message gets across. We’re not far from gallery members intentionally yelling in a player’s backswing to mess with him. Gambling adds another layer on top of this.

There is a massive difference between rooting hard for a golfer you want to win (Scottie Scheffler) and actively cheering against someone you don’t want to win (Clark).

The U.S. Open has a lengthy and storied history, from Francis Ouimet to Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods. Integrity, respect and sportsmanship are core tenets of the game. This is not football.

The second thing I have to say is that Clark’s hate is overblown. Sure, he’s not a super likable guy. Maybe he’s a chode. As I stated, I don’t like him at all.

But did I miss something? It’s not like he cheated on the course or spit on the grave of Bobby Jones. He didn’t assault someone.

We’re booing this guy like he’s Patrick Reed, Colin Montgomerie and Sergio Garcia combined?

It just seems way over the top. Mob mentality at its worst.

You can be disappointed but you have to respect the performance

Unless you were betting on Clark or you are a family member of his, I’m guessing you are disappointed in how the U.S. Open played out over the weekend.

This wasn’t my favorite major despite Shinnecock being an awesome course (but not necessarily an awesome major host venue based on the weird vibes we got, especially during Saturday’s ghost town finish).

It’s a bit of a letdown that a thrilling Rory McIlroy Masters victory was followed by Aaron Rai and Clark claiming major titles.

I’ll join you in the disappointment.

However, Clark earned this major title. He was lights out with the putter. It was a gusty and gritty performance going up against a hostile crowd. He backed down Scheffler and held things together despite less-than-stellar ball striking over the weekend.

And a true golf fan respects what he did. You don’t have to like him, but you are kidding yourself if you don’t think he deserved the win.

Oh, he was on the good side of the draw the first two days? Yeah, so was half the field. Clark took advantage. It’s an outdoor sport.

Clap or don’t clap, but you absolutely have to tip your cap.

And if you are one of the people going to a golf tournament just to verbally abuse a player like that?

Do us all a favor and watch from home next time.