Lucas Glover believes fan behavior at golf tournaments crosses a line the moment it turns into a "personal attack" or starts affecting a player's ability to compete.

Recently appearing on Trey Wingo Golf's YouTube channel, he supported the idea that golf tournaments need to start treating problematic spectators the way other venues already do: one strike, and you're gone for good.

"As far as fans' behavior, if you cross a line, I don't think it's like anything else. You run on the field at a baseball game, you're probably never going back to an MLB game," Glover told Wingo. "So, there's a line. And if it gets too personal or affects somebody's performance, you probably don't need to be at a sporting event of any kind."

Glover himself hasn't had any widely publicized run-ins with heckling or abusive fans during his own tournament rounds.

"In between shots, we all get it at some point, right? But if it does get to a point where it bothers someone and affects their play and performance. Yeah, absolutely," Glover told Wingo on the Trey Wingo podcast.

His comments land at a moment when several pros have had to deal with exactly that. And none more recently or more visibly than Wyndham Clark.

At the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Clark spent the final round fighting the leaderboard and the gallery at the same time. Fans shouted “Get in the bunker,” booed his shots, and even cheered his mistakes.

“They definitely didn’t want me to win,” Clark said after his win. “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.”

Brandel Chamblee said he had never seen anything like that before. The Golf Channel analyst called it the worst treatment he had ever seen for a player on American soil, and said the crowd’s reaction to Clark’s good and bad moments was especially disturbing.

The USGA later said several fans were removed from the grounds by local police.

The event echoed another ugly New York event less than a year earlier: the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Hecklers threw a drink at Rory McIlroy and his wife, forcing the PGA of America to call in extra state troopers just to keep the crowd under control.

Glover points to Augusta National for blueprint

Glover did not just complain about the problem. He pointed to a place that already knows how to deal with it.

The 2009 U.S.Open Champion added during the same interview: "If somebody crosses the line and you could use Augusta National as a great example with their patrons, and you know you have a foul up there and they revoke your badges. See you later."

Augusta National is famous for its zero-tolerance policies.

During the 2012 Masters, a spectator named Clayton Baker attempted to take sand from a bunker as a souvenir. Security immediately removed him, and he ultimately incurred more than $20,000 in legal fees.

During the 2026 Masters, a fan screamed out, "Give me back my son!" during Rory McIlroy’s backswing. The Spun reported that after that, the fan was detained and likely hit with a lifetime ban for what he did.

That is the kind of line Glover wants golf to draw for other tournaments as well. Not because fans should be silent, and not because golf should feel stiff.

Has fan behavior in golf finally crossed the line? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore