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Credit: USGA on YouTube
The noticeably weak crowd at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club this week for the U.S. Open left both media and viewers frustrated, though none was more vocal than the leader for most of the weekend, Wyndham Clark.
Asked by a reporter to relay his feelings to the lack of enthusiasm in the stands amid the best tournament of his career, Clark repeatedly called the quiet crowd and early departures “unfortunate” while admitting it affected his ability to focus and generate motivation for Saturday’s round.
“It was kind of unfortunate that we’re finishing in the dark and that people weren’t really out there, because there were some kind of big, key moments, and it did kind of get a little flat,” Clark said at his press conference.
Clark added that he couldn’t remember playing in a championship late on a Saturday with so many empty seats, except when he’s been way behind. Without the roar of the crowd and the buzz around big shots, Clark said he got taken out of the moment a bit.
“I love the energy. I love making a big putt and feeling that, or hitting a good shot and getting the claps,” Clark said. “So, it was unfortunate that it got a little flat. It was also, because of that, it made it a little tough to really stay focused because it seemed like everyone was leaving, and the tournament was over. And I had to keep myself really focused in the present, and I didn’t do my best job.”
Media and fans backed up Clark’s assessment.
Golf content creator Rick Moe noted the underwhelming response to one of Clark’s best shots of the weekend, which stood out even on the broadcast.
Fried Egg’s Kevin Van Valkenburg posted a photo as Clark was on the sixth hole Saturday showing swarms of fans exiting. Many noted that this was due to the train schedule for people to get back to the New York City area from the Hamptons, as well as the bad traffic around Shinnecock.
A post on X from Barstool’s Frankie Borrelli asking “why is no one at the US Open?” drew more than 500 responses.
Then on Sunday, Clark got a version of what he asked for. But rather than celebrating his push to win the tournament, the Shinnecock crowd appeared to turn on him.
“Brutal scene out here for Wyndham,” wrote Nicole Rae, a social media executive at Skratch. “Fans are fully on Scottie’s side and not saying the nicest things.”
“Haven’t heard a crowd openly root against a player like this with Wyndham Clark in a long, long time,” added Skratch’s Dan Rapoport. “If Scottie makes a few birdies and Wyndham starts slipping this could get downright epic.”
Apart from a surprise F-bomb by Jon Rahm, Clark’s relationship to the New York fans became the central online storyline of the U.S. Open. If anything, it may be a lesson to be careful what you wish for.
The post Wyndham Clark calls out lack of fan energy at Shinnecock for U.S. Open appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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