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Just months after New York golf fans were the subject of controversy for how they behaved at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, they hardly slowed their roll when the PGA Tour returned there.
The US Open took place at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club near the Hamptons this past weekend, and at the Championship Sunday, Wyndham Clark was public enemy No. 1.
Clark had to go through boos and jeers en route to his second US Open title, which are extremely unusual sounds at golf tournaments. Perhaps a special reason to face something of a road-game crowd was the fact that he was paired with Scottie Scheffler, who is one US Open win away from winning the career Grand Slam.
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PGA golfers Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark tee the third hole during the third round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on March 16, 2024. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire)
On the other hand, you could argue that Clark has brought it on himself – he was banned from Oakmont Country Club after destroying a locker and has had other outbursts on the course and cheating controversies.
“I’ve kind of heard some things about, I’m trying to turn on some golf. I saw I think I saw his 18th hole, I came back to the house and saw him play coming up 18. But yeah, I heard, you know, he’s getting some flack. It’s a difficult thing,” Xander Schauffele told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
But Clark was on top of things after the win in his post-round media availability and in a heartfelt post on social media, and Schauffele noticed.
“I thought he handled it incredibly well, and as he mentioned in his interview, he kind of used it as fuel to play even better and kind of prove it to himself more than anybody else,” Schauffele said.
Xander Schauffele of Team United States reacts to the fourth green during Saturday afternoon’s fourball match of the 2025 Ryder Cup on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park Golf Course in Farmingdale, New York on September 27, 2025. (Maddie Meyer/PGA of America)
RORY MCILROY DISCUSSES BETHPAGE BLACK FANS WHETHER HE WANTS THE RYDER CUP BACK IN NEW YORK
Schauffele even mentioned that the boos Clark heard in Canada for wearing a Jack Hughes jersey were “more cheerful than what happened to him in New York,” raising the question of whether players still want and should go to the New York area.
The stalemate prompted Golf Channel’s Eamon Lynch to call Long Island golf fans a “stain” on the game that “doesn’t deserve” to have major championships in the area. It doesn’t need repeating what Rory McIlroy and Team Europe went through last September at Bethpage Black.
But Schauffele, whose father himself admitted he didn’t want to go to last year’s Ryder Cup because of what he accurately predicted, wouldn’t go that far.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing anywhere near New York or in the Northeast. My experiences have been good. I mean, I know the Ryder Cup got a little spicy, and there’s obviously an expectation that fans are pretty, I like to call passionate. So it is what it is.
“I’m sure if you ask 100 different people you’ll get different answers. But for the most part, you know, I try to get them on my side as quickly as possible.”
Wyndham Clark of the United States poses with the US Open Championship Trophy after winning the 126th US OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 21, 2026 in Southampton, New York. (Kate McShane/Getty Images)
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The PGA Championship will take place at Bethpage Black in 2033, and Shinnecock Hills will again host the US Open in 2036.
Other upcoming PGA events in the New York metro area include next year’s BMW Championship at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, the 2028 US Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck and the 2029 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey.
