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Wyndham Clark won his second U.S. Open title Sunday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, where fans were openly and quite vocally rooting against the 32-year-old American—a sight not often seen from spectators at golf’s major championships.
Clark fended off his final-round playing partner, No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler, who was the overwhelming fan favorite Sunday in his first attempt to win the career grand slam, but finished tied for fourth.
Multiple fans were ejected from the grounds for jeers directed at Clark that tournament officials deemed to be crossing the line. “Get in the bunker” was a common phrase heard yelled by fans after Clark hit his shots.
Clark has become a bit of a villain character in professional golf after two major outbursts last year that didn’t sit well with the general public. He was banned from Oakmont Country Club after damaging the locker room following missing the cut at the 2025 U.S. Open. At the 2025 PGA Championship, Clark threw his driver after a tee shot and damaged a sign for T-Mobile, which happens to be one of his sponsors.
Sunday’s victory comes with a $4.5 million winner’s check from the U.S. Open’s record $22.5 million purse—tied with the Masters for the richest among the four men’s majors—boosting Clark’s career earnings to $38.42 million. Clark previously won the 2023 U.S. Open, which came with a $3.6 million payday.
Crowd Control
Beyond the atypical fan behavior during the final round, small crowd sizes and low fan energy outside the ropes led to a subdued atmosphere during the majority of the U.S. Open.
Complete attendance numbers are not yet available, but the tournament will end up with less than 150,000 fans total for the week, compared to 200,000-plus the previous two years at Oakmont and Pinehurst.
The USGA provided attendance numbers for the first three competition rounds to Front Office Sports.
- Thursday: 21,000
- Friday: 27,000
- Saturday: 25,000
Sights of half-full and at times nearly-empty grandstands throughout pivotal moments of the U.S. Open over the weekend—particularly early in the mornings and late in the evenings—were jarring for many observers on TV and social media.
Crowds were also sparse during the practice rounds Monday through Wednesday, although official figures for those days were not released.
Despite Shinnecock Hills’ close proximity to New York City—roughly 90 miles away in the Hamptons of Long Island—heavy traffic and other logistical issues made it difficult for fans to get out to the iconic course. A temporary stop on the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) was built just across the street from Shinnecock to alleviate some congestion.
Beyond the logistical challenges, the U.S. Open faced some stiff competition from other sports events in the New York market.
On Tuesday, MetLife Stadium hosted the France-Senegal World Cup match, the first game of the tournament for those countries. On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of fans attended the highly-anticipated Knicks NBA championship parade in the Big Apple.
Meanwhile, the U.S. men’s national team played its second match of the World Cup Friday at 3 p.m. ET in Seattle, with a domestic TV audience of more than 20 million viewers tuning in.
Looking Ahead
The U.S. Open will return to Shinnecock in 10 years, when the course will host the 2036 editions of the men’s and women’s championships in back-to-back weeks, part of the USGA’s 25-year plan for future host sites.
In 2027, the U.S. Open will be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of the USGA’s three “anchor sites” that will be expected to draw much higher attendance as it hosts the U.S. Open for the first time since 2019.
