Wyndham Clark heads into the final round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York, sitting six strokes ahead of the field — but the defending champion is hoping Sunday brings a more energetic crowd than what he experienced on Saturday.
The tournament has had to share the sports spotlight this week with several major competing events. On Thursday, massive crowds filled downtown Manhattan for a tickertape parade celebrating the Knicks’ NBA championship. Then on Friday, the United States soccer team — a co-host of the upcoming World Cup — faced off against Australia, drawing widespread attention. U.S. Open organizers even set up one of two large screens in the media center to show the soccer match so reporters could follow along.
Clark, who shot an even-par 70 on Saturday and sits at seven under par through 54 holes, expressed disappointment with how the atmosphere felt during the back end of his round.
“It was kind of unfortunate that we’re finishing in the dark and people weren’t really out there because there were some obviously key, big moments, and it did kind of get a little flat,” Clark said.
“Hopefully tomorrow there’s a bunch of fans and stuff, but for me, it’s still really important, and I still felt the moment. It’s just maybe unfortunate that there weren’t all the people there,” he added.
The 2023 U.S. Open champion also acknowledged earlier this week that his standing with fans had suffered following a locker room incident at last year’s event. A later tee time on Saturday only compounded the challenge, as Clark found himself squinting through fading daylight during the closing holes of his third round.
“Sometimes it made it tough to stay really focused because it seemed like everyone was leaving, and it was like the tournament was over, and I had to keep myself really focused and in the present,” Clark said. “Hopefully there’s people there tomorrow and it’s a great atmosphere.”
