Which is harder: fighting the pace or your reputation?
Wyndham Clarke served as an interesting case study on Sunday afternoon at Shinnecock Hills.
“Enter the bunker!” a spectator shouted in a Long Island accent as Clark’s first tee shot was launched in the final round of the US Open. The ball found its way free, but never mind that. Nine months and 60 miles away from Ryder Cup at New York’s Bethpage Black, the party turned into a proud display.
And it wasn’t just the locals who got in on the action.
“Canada hates you,” said another voice. When even our good neighbors to the north have turned on you, you know you’re in dire need of damage control.
In fairness to Clark, that’s exactly what he had done. All week in the windswept East End, the infamous 2023 US Open champion was sounding the same regretful refrain: Sorry, okay? Can people forgive him? that closet-destroying rage at Oakmont last year was performed by him in body, not in spirit. It was not, he insisted, what it really is.
It didn’t matter if that was true. If there’s one thing fans love more than worshiping a hero, it’s hating a villain. And with Scottie Scheffler—the beloved birthday boy vying to complete a career Grand Slam—playing alongside Clark in the final pairing, the galleries had both.
Fortunately for Clark, the crowds weren’t particularly large or rowdy, not by major league standards. But they were heard, clamoring for his ball to “bite” when it should spin and for it to “get leg” when it should stop.
It got bad enough that some of the tougher suitors were escorted off the field.
As if public sentiment wasn’t enough, Clark’s batting also backfired on him. He hit just three greens in regulation on the front nine, and as he struggled to the clubhouse, his lead over Sam Burns shrunk to a single stroke.
But where his long game faltered, his short game held strong, most notably at the par-5 16th, where, after another trip into the fescue, he saved the birdie with a slippery putt from the green.
The answer was obvious: an inexhaustible cheer amid the noises and barbs.
Then came the 18th.
One last test. One last course down the fairway in front of fans who had spent the week pulling just about anyone else.
“I didn’t really like New York,” Clark said during the trophy ceremony. “But I love you guys. I get it.”
More golf claps. Progress, perhaps, on the PR front.
Clark had won the contest that really mattered. The battle for hearts and minds will continue.
