It’s not just European golfers who get booed on Long Island. Eight months after the disgraceful behavior of crowds at the Ryder Cup, American galleries accompanied the redemption tale of one of their own, Wyndham Clark, with ugly choruses of disapproval on his way to a second US Open title on Sunday.
That was as much a shame as it was shameful, because the sporting theater around his victory at Shinnecock Hills deserved far better.
The detail behind his win boils down to one fact – he coughed and often spluttered but he did not choke. Having held a six-shot lead after 54 holes, he was twice pegged back to one by Sam Burns, before eventually stumbling over the line for a 73 and a one-shot victory.
But there is more to say about the color of the day, because a number of fans were ejected for the heckling that stalked the 32-year-old, whose past might best be described as checkered.
Hence the bit about redemption, for it was at this tournament last year when he vandalized a vintage locker at Oakmont Country Club in a rage and was suspended from that citadel of golf pending the completion of an anger management course.
There have been other incidents, too, such as the 2025 PGA Championship, when he threw a club in anger and almost hit a volunteer. That time only an advertising hording was shattered.
Wyndham Clark celebrates wildly after birdieing the 16th hole at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday
Clark lifts his second US Open trophy after clinging on to win by a single shot in the Hamptons
Clark’s girlfriend Emily Tanner ran onto the 18th green to celebrate with her man on Sunday
Against such a backdrop, he has become something of a villain and his many apologies have largely landed on disinterested ears. But his hope here was that a second national title, having beaten Rory McIlroy in 2023, might change perceptions.
Time will tell on that, but at the very least he can wait with a second major in his cabinet and the knowledge he went through an ordeal to land it.
Because a six-stroke lead is a fine thing and the pressure of thinking you might lose one is immense when it becomes a possibility. Only once has a major been lost from that position previously – Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters – and the 67 shot by Burns was half of the equation needed for a repeat.
The other half was supplied by Clark and the choke that nearly was.
‘New York doesn’t really like me, but I love you guys,’ he said when it was all done. ‘I get it. Some of it’s self-deserved. I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret. I’ve been sorry multiple times and I’m still sorry, so hopefully I can win you guys over eventually.’
Clark celebrates with his father Randall, who surprised his son to fly in from Denver on Sunday
Sam Burns had a huge opportunity to birdie the 18th on Sunday but he missed by inches
At that point, he had been hugged in victory by his father, who told his son: ‘So proud of you, that’s the toughest round of golf you’ll ever have to play.’
Clark’s tribulations kicked in early, with a bogey at the second to fall from seven under to six before he somehow escaped with par on the fourth via sand and a spot of wasteland beside the bins.
His swing was off and the saving grace was that his nearest challenger, Scottie Scheffler, had flat-lined. The world No 1 would never threaten in a round of 71. Nor did Rory McIlroy, who shot 73 and finished among the nowhere men on six over.
But Burns? He was different. Having started miles back on level par, and three groups ahead of Clark, his progress to three under through seven had drawn only a little attention, but that all changed when he rolled in a 50-footer for a fourth birdie on the eighth.
The roar from that moment reached Clark and immediately his game took another turn for the worse, with an overcooked approach to the par-five fifth compounded by two bad chips and a bogey. His score fell to five under and that lead was now down to one.
Clark battled against tough conditions and a rowdy crowd to hold his nerve in New York
Clark, now a two-time major champion, kisses his girlfriend Emily during the final round
It would climb as high as three again midway through the back nine, but once more it cascaded when Burns was back in the clubhouse on three under. A bogey on the 13th hurt, a superb birdie via the deepest rough on the course at the 16th eased the pain, but then a careless bogey on the par-three 17th meant he needed a par on the last. That’s a knee-knocking scenario.
And when he then drove into the right-hand rough, it seemed ordained there would be a play-off. Ditto when his approach left a 40-foot putt across a ridge on those nasty slopes of Shinnecock.
Leaving it just inches from the cup, Clark had his first moment of comfort all day. Tapping in, he received one of the most muted cheers for a major winner in recent memory.
