Long before Wyndham Clark reached the final holes at Shinnecock Hills, the 32-year-old was dealing with a hostile crowd and constant heckling throughout the week.

Even as his six-stroke lead shrank to one and the crowd rallied behind birthday boy Scottie Scheffler's bid for the Career Grand Slam, Clark held on to win his second U.S. Open title by a stroke.

"They definitely didn't want me to win. It's pretty rare in an (U.S.) Open Championship or a major to have fans kind of boo against your shots or cheer for bad shots," said Clark in the post-tournament conference after securing his second major.

Kevin Van Valkenburg of The Fried Egg reported that a young fan was escorted out of the crowd for shouting “Don't choke Wyndham!” before Clark's tee shot at No. 4 in the final round.

However, Clark acknowledged that some of the criticism was a result of his own wrongdoing.

"You know, some of it's self-deserved. I kind of brought it on myself, but I also get it, too. Scottie was going for the career Grand Slam, and it hasn't happened very often," Clark added in the post-tournament conference.

Fans have not forgotten Clark's outburst at Oakmont Country Club last year, taunting him with shouts of "Let's not break any lockers today, Wyndham" during the final round despite his hopes of winning them back with a victory.

Despite trailing Clark by six shots entering Sunday, Scheffler remained in contention for the Career Grand Slam.

Scheffler on the Shinnecock crowd

With the crowd singing "Happy Birthday" and backing his bid for the Career Grand Slam, Scheffler enjoyed plenty of support at Shinnecock Hills. However, even he felt the atmosphere occasionally went too far.

"The crowd was tough today," Scheffler told reporters in the final round press conference.

"New Yorkers, they are tough people. There was a good turnout from the fans. You like seeing the fans cheer for you. I think sometimes it can get a little too much when balls are going off greens and you start hearing cheers,” 

The fans cheered for every good shot Scheffler hit and sometimes even when he did not. Scheffler began the final round six strokes behind Clark but could only reduce that margin by two.

Scheffler will have to wait another year to secure the Career Grand Slam as Clark ended up lifting his second U.S. Open title.

What are your thoughts on the endless heckling Clark faced at Shinnecock? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav