Brandel Chamblee was shocked when he saw how the American fans at Shinnecock Hills treated one of their own golf players, Wyndham Clark, at the 2026 U.S. Open.

The veteran Golf Channel analyst said he had never seen anything like it in his entire life.

“I think it was the worst I've ever seen a player treated when you consider it was an American player on American soil,” Chamblee said.

Chamblee recalled how Colin Montgomerie got jeered at the Ryder Cup 1999. Brian Harman faced insults at The 2023 Open Championship. Brooks Koepka heard boos at the Bethpage Ryder Cup.

But the fan reception at Shinnecock Hills was the absolute low point, according to him.

Wyndham Clark began the final round with a six-shot lead, a number so big it should have felt safe. But the crowd had already chosen their anti-hero.

They shouted “Get in the bunker!” on his tee shots. When his ball found trouble, they cheered. When he saved par on the fourth hole, a sad sigh drifted across the course instead of applause. 

USGA later confirmed that several spectators were removed for abusive behavior.

“He made that putt at six, and there was relatively little cheering. When he missed the putt at 17, there were cheers,” Chamblee added.

“To be able to put that out of your head when you're trying to win a U.S. Open, you're trying to control your nerves, I've never seen anybody have to deal with that element in a major championship to the extent that I saw Wyndham have to deal with it today.”

Wyndham Clark did not deny that some of the reaction was tied to his own past

After the final putt dropped, Wyndham Clark did not pretend the hostility came from nowhere.

“Some of it’s self-deserved. I kind of brought it on myself,” he said.

Last year at Oakmont, Clark was so frustrated after missing the cut that he kicked the front panels of two 121-year-old lockers. Clark has apologized several times after that and even completed his required anger management program and paid restitution, but he knows it hurt his reputation.

“They definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark said. “It’s pretty rare in a U.S. Open or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots.”

At the same time, Scottie Scheffler, his playing partner, was chasing the career grand slam on his 30th Birthday.

“But I also get it, too. Scottie was going for the career grand slam, and it hasn’t happened very often,” Clark added.

Despite all of that, Wyndham Clark won his second U.S. Open title. Since he was born in 1993, only a few players have won two or more U.S. Opens. The list includes legends like Tiger Woods, Lee Janzen, Payne Stewart, Retief Goosen, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau.

“I’m hoping I can win back the fans that I had or some new fans because it was a terrible incident,” Clark said.

“I really feel like I can show people that I’m fun and outgoing, I’m fierce, competitive, love the game, respect the game, and I just had a bad moment,” he added.

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Koushik Biswas