When Wyndham Clark entered the final round of the U.S. Open 2026 as the leader, little did he know that he would have to manage much more than just his nerves. The spectators at Shinnecock didn’t want him to win, and they made sure Clark knew it too. Shane Lowry, who faced similar, if not worse, treatment at another New York venue, Bethpage Black, was asked to share his thoughts on New York fans. The Irishman didn’t hold back.

“I think New York fans are interesting,” Lowry said with a mischievous smile on his face. “They like the sound of their own voice. If something comes into their head, they say it. And if it’s stupid, they say it louder,” added Lowry, on The Shotgun Start podcast, where one of the hosts, PJ Clark, is a Long Islander.

“Look, the Ryder Cup was—I think the Ryder Cup is different because it’s a team event and it’s like us against them. You know, Wyndham, what he went through, I suppose, on Sunday; fair play to him for coming out the other side of it. I’m sure that was pretty difficult. But they all wanted Scottie Scheffler to win. That’s the way they were,” the 2019 Open champion added.

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Speaking after his round, Wyndham Clark admitted that it was difficult but refused to escalate the matter and took some of the blame upon himself. But it wasn’t just Clark who was on the receiving end of boorish fan behavior.

A spectator recorded himself while heckling Rory McIlroy during his tee shot. McIlroy clapped back at the fan afterward with a brutal gesture. Expectedly, the fan behavior at Shinnecock has raised calls for a boycott of Long Island venues.

Golf Channel analyst Eamon Lynch called Long Island fans a “stain on the game of golf,” going so far as to say the PGA of America should move away from Bethpage Black, which is set to host a major in 2033. Shane Lowry, however, disagreed.

“I heard somebody say that we shouldn’t go back to New York or Long Island. But, no. I’m not sure if I agree with that. Even in the lead-up to it, I’m not sure it’s gonna change. It is what it is,” the Offaly man added in the recent podcast appearance.

Shane Lowry, interestingly, admitted that while the European team knew they had to face heckling at Bethpage, the extent of it baffled them once the Ryder Cup started. However, Clark’s case was different, because he was an American. “Don’t choke Wyndham!” “Get in the bunker!” and “Anyone but Wyndham” were just some of the cruel jabs thrown at Clark.

The boisterous New York crowd supported Clark’s playing partner Scottie Scheffler, who was fighting for his career Grand Slam on his 30th birthday. But even Scheffler felt the crowd crossed the line in some cases.

Kevin Van Valkenburg shared a picture of a fan being questioned by the police, which was again, oddly reminiscent of the chaotic atmosphere at Bethpage Black. Reportedly, many fans were kicked out by the police on Sunday.

Last October, Shane Lowry himself faced numerous snide remarks about his physique. Most European pros agreed that the behavior had crossed a line at the Ryder Cup. Rory McIlroy fired back on a few occasions, and his anger was evident when he spoke to the media.

“I wish they had let the dogs off the leashes,” McIlroy said in the post-round conference. “I didn’t hear a lot of shouts for Scottie (Scheffler) today, but I heard a lot of shouts against me. It’s like, support your players.”

Justin Thomas tried to stop the crowd from booing pros mid-swing, but to no avail. On top of it all, some players encouraged the rowdiness, and team captain Keegan Bradley played down the incidents by calling it a display of passion. Notably, Bradley, who attended St. John’s University in Queens, was also asked to share his thoughts on the Shinnecock Hills crowd

The 2011 PGA Championship winner was surprised by Clark’s treatment but also highlighted another factor: “Golf is in the process of leaving just the golf world, where people are coming to tournaments that are sports fans, and that’s how people in New York cheer on the Knicks or the Giants. They’re golfers, but I think that we’re entering a time where the game is really growing in popularity. People are coming to golf tournaments to have a good time.”

Wyndham Clark, commenting along the same line, said it’s “cool” to see fans of other sports coming to watch golf. However, it still does little to change the broader concerns surrounding crowd behavior.