Wyndham Clark overcomes heckling to win U.S. Open at Shinnecock

Wyndham Clark won a U.S. Open that became a test of nerve as much as shotmaking. At Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, where a six-shot Sunday lead shrank to one at one point, Clark had to keep his focus while hecklers were removed from the course and others openly rooted against him.

The setting only sharpened the pressure. The 126th U.S. Open ran June 18-21 in Southampton, New York, at a venue hosting its sixth Open overall and third this century. The USGA accepted 10,201 entries, the second-highest total in championship history, and put every player in the Official World Golf Ranking top 50 into the field, alongside 51 fully exempt players that included Clark, J.J. Spaun, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Gary Woodland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose.

Clark built his cushion with a round that set the tone for the week. After a fog delay that began at 7:05 a.m. EDT on Thursday and pushed play back about two hours, he shot a 6-under 64, the second-lowest round ever recorded in a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He followed with a 69 to reach 7-under 133 after 36 holes, a Shinnecock Hills U.S. Open record. The cut came at 4-over 144, the lowest in a Shinnecock Hills U.S. Open, while the USGA had already softened the setup by lowering green speeds to 10.5 feet on the Stimpmeter and syringing greens between waves because of forecast wind.

By Sunday, the challenge had shifted from course management to emotional management. Golf Channel reported police removed hecklers shortly before 5 p.m. ET for inappropriate comments aimed at Clark, including repeated shouts of “Get in the bunker!” NBC and Golf Channel also reported that the crowd loudly backed Scheffler, even singing “Happy Birthday” on the first tee box. Clark had said Saturday that the atmosphere felt “unfortunate” and “flat” because spectators were sparse late in the day, a problem he linked to finishing in the dark and to logistics getting fans to and from the course.

The hostility came with context. Clark had already become a lightning rod after damaging a locker at Oakmont Country Club following a missed cut at the 2025 U.S. Open and later apologizing for the incident. He entered Shinnecock as the 2023 U.S. Open champion from Los Angeles Country Club, and on a course where the field was stacked and the margin for error was thin, he steadied himself long enough to turn backlash into another major title.