Major champ on Presidents Cup hecklers: Media made me ‘villain’ | News

Will the Chicago golf fans be kinder to Wyndham Clark than the Long Island fans were to him in June? That’s one question on the mind of the two-time major champion as the 2026 Presidents Cup gets underway at Medinah.

This summer, Clark fought through final-round struggles to win the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. But he didn’t just fight his game in the final round. He also had to contend with unruly fans, many of whom were openly rooting against him as he battled for his second victory in America’s national championship.

The bizarre scene at Shinnecock marred what was a huge moment in Clark’s career, not too dissimilar to how the American fans’ behavior at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage last September threw a pall over those proceedings.

And questions about Clark’s treatment by spectators at the U.S. Open have followed him ever since, all the way to Medinah and this week’s Presidents Cup.

Wyndham Clark on Presidents Cup fans: ‘It would be nice if people were rooting for me’

Surely, U.S. fans would drop whatever distaste they had for Clark and throw their support behind him as he played with an American flag on his shirt, right?

It’s something Clark wondered himself, shortly after winning the BMW Championship in August, where fans strongly supported Rory McIlroy on Sunday.

Clark acknowledged that the fans were not behind him again at the BMW, then joked, “If I don’t get love at the Presidents Cup, as a USA guy, then I don’t know, I might move to Mexico or something.”

Fast-forward one month, and Clark was there, sitting for his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday at Medinah. When asked about lacking fan support for many of his six wins, Clark claimed that “the media” had made him out to be “the villain” so far in his career, then admitted he would like fans to start rooting for him at some point.

“I think, if it happened throughout my career, yeah, it would maybe be a bummer because even though I’m maybe — the media has made me out to be the villain, if you will, I don’t feel like I’m that person,” Clark said on Wednesday. “Eventually it would be nice if people were rooting for me and someone else was the underdog, if you will.”

So far this week, the American fans in Chicago have treated Clark well, as he reported during his presser.

“Yeah, I always like joking with the media. Yeah, it’s been amazing. USA fans are the best, especially here in Chicago. It’s been amazing, yeah. We’re getting all love,” he said. “It’s all love. Since New York, it’s been all love.”

As for whether that will continue as the Presidents Cup gets underway for real, and beyond when Clark starts playing individual events again, Clark is making no predictions.

“We’ll see,” he said on Wednesday. “Hopefully things are trending and changing in the right direction.”

Clark names U.S. player with ‘least emotion’ at Presidents Cup

The mood wasn’t all glum at Clark’s Presidents Cup press conference.

When asked about the “team atmosphere” among the Americans at Medinah, Clark had only good things to say about their chemistry.

“Team atmosphere? One word, I mean, close. We are — it’s always funny in the media, they just talk about how our team isn’t as close as Europe. We all grew up together. We’re all really close,” Clark revealed. “There’s constant chatter and bickering back and forth, in a good way. Yeah, our team is very close.”

He also dished on some of his teammates.

When a reporter said Clark was one of the most “passionate” players on the U.S. team, he instead identified a different player as having the most fire: U.S. team veteran Justin Thomas.

“JT is probably our most passionate guy, especially during these events. Yeah, I think it helps. Any time you can bring the crowd and get them involved, you gain that momentum, and momentum is so big in golf,” Clark said. “I really want to have a couple of those moments that are just iconic and really bring the team together and get the crowd going. Hopefully that happens this week.”

Clark then answered a series of questions about U.S. team superlatives (Most competitive? Scottie Scheffler. Best dressed? Collin Morikawa. Biggest trash-talker? Xander Schauffele).

Finally, Clark was asked what superlative he would give teammate Patrick Cantlay. He gave his answer, ribbing Cantlay in the process.

“Patrick Cantlay — least emotion.”