Wyndham Clark Makes No Apologies for Winning 2026 U.S. Open

When you think about the 2026 U.S. Open, and the image of Wyndham Clark raising the trophy for a second time, I want you to pause for a second and think about the array of demands we put on modern professional athletes.

They need to have skill and composure inside the arena. That much is obvious. They’d never end up on our radar without an absurd amount of talent. But they also need to be gracious, authentic, and charismatic — especially if they want to be beloved. It helps to be blessed with the gift of gab, to be comfortable holding court with strangers. They also have to be willing to discuss their various failures, vulnerabilities, and insecurities. If they make a mistake, particularly outside the arena, they’d better apologize in a way that earns our approval, otherwise we’ll be happy to hold their worst moments against them forever.

Clark isn’t unique in facing any of these challenges. And he’s well compensated for his talents and for dealing with those complexities. But as I spent my Sunday listening to New York fans repeatedly cheering with approval every time he hit a bad shot, as I heard dozens of people on each hole beg for his ball to find the nastiest bunkers, it struck me how strange it is that we grant forgiveness to some athletes and not to others.

Wyndham Clark might not be your tempo. He hasn’t always been mine. I don’t think he handled it well when his anger overtook him and he smashed up a locker at the U.S. Open at Oakmont last year. I also think it was a little scary when he threw his driver through a partition at the PGA Championship, endangering a volunteer. I think it’s good that the locker room incident came out because it forced him to take accountability, and I’m not sure he wanted to.

Sunday Blog: Notes and amusements on the final round at Shinnecock

I also think decent people can do dumb things. They can express regret, ask for forgiveness, and still come across as insincere, even if they don’t mean to be. I had one question I wanted to ask him Sunday night, because it’s something I’ve wondered about as I’ve heard him talk about his desire to move past those incidents: What do you do now when you get angry?

“Man, I'm not getting angry as much as I used to,” Clark said. “I think I get frustrated. My anger has kind of gone away, which is a huge blessing. I'd say the frustration is kind of obviously there. Anyone gets it in golf. But yeah, the anger? I'm not as angry as I used to be.”

Why did he think his anger went away?

“I think it's a combination of things off the course being great,” Clark said. “My game feels like it's in a good position. I'm just happier where I'm at in life.”

Clark does not have Rory McIlroy’s charisma or Jordan Spieth’s charm. Sometimes he tries too hard, he makes awkward jokes, he stumbles over his words and says weird stuff. It’s clear he has a temper, one he may battle the rest of his life. But he’s not alone. He reminds me of plenty of people I’ve known in my life who want to be liked, but can’t help tripping over their own words at times. Winning doesn’t redeem him or make him cool, but we also ought to be cognizant of the fact that charming people isn’t the most important part of Clark’s job.

“I figured in my mind that this would maybe be the last time [I’d get asked about the Oakmont lockers] just because it's one year removed,” Clark said. “I'll probably always get them, but I hope I don't become the heel of the PGA. I guess if I am … any press is good press, right?”

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You aren’t obligated to cheer for Clark. I’m not trying to guilt you into it. You can choose to root against anyone you want to, and your willingness to forgive his transgressions may be different than mine. But I don’t know how anyone could watch how he handled himself over four days at Shinnecock and not come away impressed at how good he is at golf.

“Being in the arena is not for everybody, and I think it shows a lot about Wyndham, how he handled not only this golf course but I think the crowd today as well and is a well-deserving champion,” Scottie Scheffler said.

When Clark lagged his final putt toward the hole on 18, and barely anyone in the crowd clapped, it was among the more surreal scenes I’ve experienced in 25 years covering sports. Clark could have ignored it, and he also could have been annoyed by it, but he was happy to bring it up during the trophy presentation.

“New York didn’t really like me,” Clark said. “But I love you guys. I get it. Some of it’s self-deserved. I did some unfortunate things that I really regret. I’ve been sorry multiple times. I’m still sorry. Hopefully I can win you guys over eventually.”

But enough talk of broken lockers, sincere apologies, villains, and heroes. May the lasting image of this U.S. Open be one of the shots Clark hit — the towering 3-wood into 16 on Saturday to set up an eagle, or the birdie putt on the same hole on Sunday from the back of the green. He played brilliant golf under enormous pressure. He was unapologetic about seizing the day.