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Why U.S. Open fans were kicked out for booing Wyndham Clark at Shinnecock Hills

Why U.S. Open fans were kicked out for booing Wyndham Clark at Shinnecock Hills originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Wyndham Clark's journey in the 2026 U.S. Open includes battling the fans at Shinnecock Hills in New York.

While Clark was the tournament's leader for the entire of the weekend, the fans were not that excited about him being in a position to win another U.S. Open. In fact, in an effort to try and get in Clark's head, fans heckled him throughout the day on Sunday.

That backfired for those fans, as many of them were ultimately kicked out of the event altogether. It's rare to see an American golfer so thoroughly jeered throughout the U.S. Open, but Clark's reputation led to him essentially playing a road U.S. Open.

Here's why fans booed Wyndham Clark during the U.S. Open.

MORE: Wyndham Clark timeline of controversies

Why U.S. fans were booing Wyndham Clark

Clark has become one of the least-liked players on the PGA Tour due to a variety of controversies in his career. Most notably, Clark was banned from Oakmont for damaging the locker room after missing the cut at the 2025 U.S. Open, which was in the middle of a poor stretch of golf for the 2023 U.S. Open winner.

A year later, Clark's game is in a much better spot, but his reputation is still poor amongst fans. At Shinnecock Hills, fans were clearly rooting against Clark as he held a huge lead on Sunday afternoon.

A bunch of fans were kicked out of the event for jeering Clark during the final round.

Additionally, fans cheered loudly anytime another golfer made a move up the leaderboard, while there were more muted cheers whenever Clark made a big shot.

Clark brushed off the jeering in his post-tournament interview.

MORE: Revisiting Wyndham Clark's 2025 U.S. Open incident