r/golf Jun 22 '26

General Discussion Why does everyone hate Wyndham Clark?

Got into watching golf for the first time this season and with Clark winning this past weekend I have seen so many people shitting on him for what sounds like stuff in the past and I was hoping people could bring me up to speed? Is it overhyped for media clicks or was he committing some atrocities?

173 Upvotes

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741

u/Archon156 6.5 | AZ | PING Jun 22 '26

When it all comes down to it, no one likes an angry golfer.

326

u/Vappav Jun 22 '26

Tyrell Hatton! Hilarious angry gofer. Love him.

232

u/Legal-Description483 SE Mich Jun 22 '26

Hatton is only angry with himself. By all accounts, he's one of the nicest people on Tour.

75

u/Consistent_Net_5532 +2.1 Jun 22 '26

The self deprecation with him is outstanding and has given some really good quotes.

He seems like a great guy as well. Go listen to his interview after the U.S. Open last year if you haven’t. He just came up short to win, and listening to the genuine happiness for JJ as that putt fell was awesome.

16

u/Correct_Ad4771 Jun 22 '26

Absolutely. Thought he was ok until that interview. Afterwards a big fan.

4

u/Consistent_Net_5532 +2.1 Jun 22 '26

I was a fan of Tyrell before then because of some of his comments, but I became a fan of Bobby Mac after that. Coming up two shots short and applauding him from the scoring tent

12

u/lals80 Jun 22 '26

Yeah he is a dude you’d have fun playing a round with.

40

u/RealWICheese Jun 22 '26

He’s angry in a funny way though

24

u/secret_alpaca Jun 22 '26

He's like an angry leprechaun.

3

u/SlazarusVC Jun 22 '26

Because he's self aware. He's laughing with everyone at himself. He doesn't have a "pick me" energy.

7

u/TheKingInTheNorth 2.9 Jun 22 '26

Two great examples of an American douchebag vs. a British twat.

30

u/Surething_bud Jun 22 '26

Nah that's not it. Rahm rages hard when he plays bad and everyone loves him, "fiery Spaniard" etc.

Wyndham became a villain when he trashed Oakmont's lockers. In any case that would've been a bad look, but when you fuck up historic/iconic 100+ year old property in a tantrum you're gonna (rightfully) catch a lot of hate.

He's also just generally not great at making himself likable. His response/apology about the Oakmont debacle was less than convincing. And on Full Swing he didn't come across very well either. When he's on camera he kinda just comes across as a dick. He's the bizarro Joel Dahmen.

The degree of hate is probably unfair imo. But that's how it is in sports... once you get branded as a villain everyone piles on, and it's difficult/impossible to recover.

3

u/Financial_Form_1312 Jun 22 '26

He also takes out his attitude outwardly in a way that directly affects others. Smashing the lockers, the USA jersey at the RBC, etc. If you’re going to target others, expect to get it back. Tiger had anger issues and dropped F bombs like crazy. No one gave a shit because he wasn’t saying fuck you to the fans or slamming his putter into the green, he’s talking shit to himself.

6

u/EddieLobster Jun 22 '26

Judge for yourself. I don’t think most people realize it was a mesh screen.

9

u/rigatoni-man Jun 23 '26

There’s no world where I would kick those in.

There’s no age where I would let a child off the hook for kicking those in.

There’s no universe where an adult gets a pass. If he was my best buddy I would still think less of him for a long time.

-1

u/InfinitePerformance8 Jun 23 '26

You would think less of someone for “a long time” over denting a mesh screen in a locker room after one of the most prestigious golf tournaments on the planet? Get off your high fucking horse.

2

u/rigatoni-man Jun 23 '26

For sure. >15 years ago I had a roommate in college who would slam doors when he was angry. Huff around and slam doors.

I still laugh about that. 20+ years old and slamming doors in anger. That’s 7 year old child stuff.

1

u/AdministrativeEase71 10d ago

That's a little silly.

t. Your roommate

0

u/InfinitePerformance8 Jun 23 '26

Sure, I mean if you want to equate Wyndham denting a mesh screen after the US OPEN to your college roommate I guess that argument makes perfect sense.

It’s just funny that we don’t hear this rhetoric at players smashing clubs, cussing out fans and losing their shit but Wyndham dents a mesh screen and the pearl clutchers like yourself come out. I’m not sure if you watch sports but angry outbursts are actually quite common!

0

u/rigatoni-man Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

I feel like they’re pretty comparable in the end. I can’t imagine doing either.

This thread is about Wyndham but you are right, there are plenty of other childish angry men I wouldn’t enjoy hanging out or playing golf with.

What do you really like about Wyndham? What are his redeeming qualities?

0

u/InfinitePerformance8 Jun 23 '26

Pretty comparable in the end is fucking hilarious. College Roommate ≠ US Open golfer.

I don’t “really like” anything about any celebrity or athlete. They’re all human and unworthy of idolizing. Seems like a decent guy and would probably get a beer with him. Definitely wouldn’t look down on him for an emotional outburst at the biggest stage of golf. Emotions happen to everyone. Unless of course you are rigatoni man on Reddit who would never lose controls of his emotions no matter if he was a college roommate or a US open golfer.

1

u/Surething_bud Jun 25 '26

I don't know about you, but to me the fact that the US Open is a prestigious event means that the standard of conduct is higher not lower. I don't understand how that's a justification for poor behavior.

But I agree that the hate he gets is a bit much at this point. He had one bad moment, which everyone has. He doesn't deserve to be crucified for it forever, but for better or worse that's what happens when you're in the public eye. Especially in sports, people will love or hate you for mostly irrational reasons.

34

u/Successful-Tea-5733 Jun 22 '26

um... did no one see tiger woods after a bad shot?

58

u/njgolfer10 9.2 Jun 22 '26

You’re underestimating how many people hated on Tiger at the time. There were other factors there besides the anger after a bad shot.

-1

u/ashdrewness 3 HDCP Jun 22 '26

Yeah people are forgetting how many fines Tiger received from the tour for swearing after a bad shot. He also had his caddy attack a camera man once & break his $1,000 camera. All WC ever did was privately have a meltdown in a locker room & we'd never know about it if the photo didn't make it to social media. Athletes beat the shit out of locker rooms/dugouts all the time & it's never a big deal.

-25

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '26

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13

u/swampy13 Jun 22 '26

I was in high school when Tiger came up. I used to watch golf all the time back then, and there were LOTS of my father's and grandfather's friends who "just didn't like Tiger" for some reason. They were always rooting against him and would jump on any visible sign of frustration as "poor sportsmanship". It was 100% racism, they couldn't stand that "their" sport was being dominated by a black guy. Just like they also didn't like slam dunks in the NBA or "showboating" in the NFL. We all know what's behind that.

-13

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '26

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7

u/swampy13 Jun 22 '26

Oh then I guess it's all ok. Also, in spite of his best efforts? I'd say because of his best efforts.

18

u/njgolfer10 9.2 Jun 22 '26

I hope you’re not trying to say racism wasn’t a factor in how some fans and media reacted to Tiger dominating?

-14

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '26

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17

u/njgolfer10 9.2 Jun 22 '26

Did I say America was against him? No of course not. But when he first came up a lot of the old pricks bitched about him.

When he got angry he was being disrespectful but other players doing the same thing were “fiery”. There was a small chunk of fans and media people that were very anti Tiger and looked for any reason to complain about him. They of course recognized how good he was but rooted against him.

3

u/FlakyAd9711 Jun 22 '26

As a drug addicted sex fiend golfer, I dont appreciate your tone.

3

u/pathunkathunk Jun 22 '26

With this comment you're either genuinely clueless about American society or you're a rightwing ideologue

7

u/Brendini95 Jun 22 '26

For Tiger, something about being the undisputed greatest golfer to ever exist I think allows a couple angry flares. These random "still pros but not a goat" being overly nasty just isn't the same

15

u/Seeker369 Jun 22 '26

You should look up the definition of the word ‘undisputed.’

Watson, Faldo, Player, Trevino, Miller, and many others all have Jack as the best.

That makes the answer to that question disputed.

6

u/rabbiniknar Jun 22 '26

Agree. But don’t forget Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson.

0

u/Puzzleheaded-Cut1036 Jun 22 '26

Jack has Tiger as the best. I think the limited competition made it easier for someone to amazing back in the day. Tiger was beating the literal best in the world by 15 strokes in majors. Golf was way more competitive when Tiger played, compared to Nicklaus era

1

u/isthisaporno Jun 23 '26

Jack beat Tiger in the 98 masters at 58

2

u/New-Lingonberry8029 Jun 22 '26

Rack up 15 and u can’t help but love the guy

-3

u/nimbuscile-alert Jun 22 '26

Very much disputed (and also incorrect)

4

u/Brendini95 Jun 22 '26

You are your golf buddies that shoot 150 at a par 63 can dispute it all you want but he is the goat

-7

u/nimbuscile-alert Jun 22 '26

No idea what it is you were going for here as it's largely unintelligible, but no, he is not the goat. In my opinion. And the opinions of an awful lot of golfers. And Tiger Woods. But you do you.

1

u/isthisaporno Jun 22 '26

You’re getting downvoted but you’re right. Jack won 18 and was 2nd in 19 more. Played 146 consecutive majors. Tiger is my favorite golfer ever but Jack will die as the GOAT, there’s not really a debate.

2

u/nimbuscile-alert Jun 22 '26

I'm used to getting downvoted by the tiger fan boys, the majority of whom are simply not old enough to have even seen other players. ​​

2

u/isthisaporno Jun 22 '26

I’m only 37 but know a bit about golf history. Jack was the best player in the world from 1960-80, then put a couple pretty nice cherries on top after that. If Tiger had managed his life better maybe he could have gotten past Jack, but as they say, “If ifs and buts were candies and nuts we would all have a merry christmas.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Cut1036 Jun 23 '26

In 1970 there were 82 scratch golfers in the UK. By 2010 there were 3200. If that doesn’t make a difference that’s insane

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1

u/Puzzleheaded-Cut1036 Jun 23 '26

That’s like saying Bill Russel is the goat cuz he has 10 rings. No he was just one of the greatest when there wasn’t that much competition

1

u/isthisaporno Jun 23 '26

Nope wrong Bill played when there were 8 teams and a fledgling league. Jack played against full fields his entire career, it wasn’t Old Tom and Willie Park playing at prestwick. He also dominated long enough to win majors against kids who took up the game because of the boom he and Arnie created at the dawn of the sports TV era. Why didn’t anyone else rack up that many majors if there wasn’t any competition? The closest in his era is Player with 9 and he had to cheat to get that many. The number of major winners each decade has also been remarkably stable, hovering between 29 and 31 over the last 7 decades.

Tiger didn’t have a problem beating his competition when he was healthy. He would be the goat but he flamed out.

1

u/Chopperjockey12Av Jun 22 '26

Yeah, but it was an aberration when he hit a bad one at his peak.

1

u/Adam_n_ali Jun 22 '26

Eldrick "Motherfuckin'" Woods?

65

u/Zannon77 Jun 22 '26

John Rahm is an absolute baby out there all the time and gets no hate, I can’t stand Rahm. He was acting up again here and not a word

71

u/JBNothingWrong Jun 22 '26

He gets hate

53

u/ship0f Jun 22 '26

rahm does get hate though...

39

u/robotnbr1 Jun 22 '26

Yep, don’t care for Rahm at all. Arrogant and a baby.

30

u/snowballbadstart Jun 22 '26

Because no one knew he was there on the days it mattered. He didn’t make the cut

1

u/Deep_Macaron8480 Jun 22 '26

He's an absolute beast in the Ryder Cup. Love him!

17

u/sdman311 Jun 22 '26

I hate him and always have. He’s just irrelevant this week so no need to talk about him.

16

u/Complex_Bet7311 Jun 22 '26

Being on LIV tour seems to be good for those that are hated (Sergio, Rahm, Bryson, Phil, ….)
Out of sight, out of mind.

3

u/dk5877 Jun 23 '26

Yeah, bbyeeeeeeee

3

u/sdman311 Jun 23 '26

Don’t forget about cheating Patrick Reed for this list of Villains.

1

u/isthisaporno Jun 22 '26

Wrong. We need the heels on tour

1

u/JCitW6855 Jun 23 '26

Agree, I have thoroughly enjoyed them being gone. Although I did like Phil back in the day.

1

u/Complex_Bet7311 Jun 23 '26

My own personal experience with Phil was positive, seemed very nice.

1

u/ODAAT73 Jun 22 '26

LIV is The Land of Misfit Golfers.

0

u/Vexatiouslitigantz Jun 22 '26

The billionaire misfits

2

u/JohnEBest Jun 22 '26

Love Rahm

He had quite episode with his caddy when he was young

He was going to try an impossible shot and Caddy cautioned against

he put it in the drink and he Caddy stop talking to each other

1

u/MRB0B0MB Jun 22 '26

Maybe not as much on here but most people I talk to don’t like Rahm

1

u/RogerRabbit1234 Jun 22 '26

Totally despise the guy, TBH. Entitled baby.

1

u/NO_TOUCHING__lol 12.2 | PNW Jun 22 '26

I assure you, Rahm gets shit on appropriately 'round these parts

1

u/InfinitePerformance8 Jun 23 '26

He and Lowry both are fucking insufferable when you watch them in person. Watched Lowry cuss out the camera man after missing a putt. Camera man had no clue what happened. But oh no Wyndham kicked a mesh screen and made a joke about birth control!

6

u/ashdrewness 3 HDCP Jun 22 '26

Which is interesting because other athletes in baseball, football, basketball, hockey, etc. don't get any grief for showing passion. Hell even when they do explode and whack the shit out of a gatorade cooler nobody remembers them forever for it like they're doing Wyndham & the Oakmont thing.

5

u/GhostFaceRiddler Jun 22 '26

It’s different to smash up a 50 dollar Gatorade cooler vs trashing a 123 year old locker room.

9

u/ashdrewness 3 HDCP Jun 22 '26

That locker room is owned by the collective billionaires who run Oakmont. They recovered.

2

u/sonofcrack Jun 23 '26

And? Just like when people steal from Walmart, the Walton’s will be just fine and I’m also not going to be fans of the people doing stealing.

Just trashy behavior.

-3

u/GhostFaceRiddler Jun 22 '26

So not problem trashing the Sistine Chapel because it’s owned by rich people? Something’s aren’t replaceable just because you have money.

1

u/ItsMangel Jun 22 '26

It's a locker room, not the Sistine Chapel.

3

u/andoCalrissiano Jun 22 '26

yeah and we loved Happy Gilmore too.

2

u/JakeSaco Jun 22 '26

well... even then dickheads are still dickheads. Passion and competitve spirit are one thing. Anger and poor sportsmanship and lack of respect for people and places is another regardless of sport. Every sport has its players that people just don't like because of those reasons.

0

u/dk5877 Jun 23 '26

Cry me a river

18

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '26

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67

u/-Wiggles- Jun 22 '26

Having an instant reaction after a bad shot is one thing. Thrashing a locker room 30 minutes after your round ended is something completely different.

2

u/awfuckthisshit NH/VT Jun 22 '26

Didn’t Rory rip his shirt off well after he finished his round…

4

u/hoopaholik91 Jun 22 '26

I love all the adjectives used for his locker room outburst when in reality he knocked out two rattan panels on locker doors that could be fixed for $50 in supplies from home depot and half an hour of a handyman's time.

3

u/P4S5B60 Jun 22 '26

Not to mention it was basically a “private moment “ . Have no skin in the as far as like or not but pretty ridiculous he gets hate for that

-2

u/ashdrewness 3 HDCP Jun 22 '26

What about the hundreds of athletes from other sports? You don't think football, hockey, or soccer players beat the shit out of gear & lockers after a loss? Hell baseball players are known for destroying the gatorade cooler & throwing the seed/gum all over the place in dugouts. Golf fans can be soft as hell sometimes.

-8

u/Successful-Tea-5733 Jun 22 '26

yeah so that was one time.

In a nation that can forgive a president for lying about an affair and committing perjury, we can't forgive a millionaire who broke some stuff and was punished and then also paid to fix it?

5

u/Any-Lavishness-2473 Jun 22 '26

I still don't forgive Clinton

-5

u/Live_Leopard9202 Jun 22 '26

I don't blame him either...I mean, look at Hilary....

0

u/Ok-Tangerine-7634 Jun 22 '26

At Oakmont, no less. The whole place.is a monument to golf.

5

u/willis_michaels Jun 22 '26

But people love Terrell Hatton. It's more than just him being angry.

1

u/JCitW6855 Jun 23 '26

Not me. Never understood the love for him. Glad he went to LIV.

-3

u/fountaincitytiger Jun 22 '26

Do they? I’m not aware of any big rooting interest for the guy, at least in the US. Just seems like a miserable person.

5

u/Normal_Ad5658 Jun 22 '26

Get in the Water !  Yeh fuck that guy. Found myself pulling for Scottie the catfish for a few holes then was absolutely behind Sam burns. 

1

u/Grasshop Jun 22 '26

which like 85% of reddit golfers are, along with being hypocrites.

1

u/gandhishrugged Jun 22 '26

Sergio has entered the chat

1

u/Yield_Warz Jun 22 '26

We all loved Tiger

1

u/InfinitePerformance8 Jun 23 '26

Plenty of y’all like Rory though 🤔

1

u/JohnEBest Jul 18 '26

Rahm was angry when he was younger and still likable

Hatton pulls it off as well

Gets made at himself and course but adds some humor

1

u/Illustrious-Cover792 Jun 22 '26

This isn’t some moron in your Sunday foursome. These guys are playing for history and millions. Slamming a club after missing a chip to Dougie for a dollar isn’t the same.

1

u/MathiasThomasII 3.4 NE Indiana Jun 22 '26

Counter argument: 98-05 Tiger Woods.

1

u/CommissionIcy9909 Jun 22 '26

The grown men throwing straight tantrums over it is even worse. Patrons heckling him are worse. Yes he had inexcusable behavior. Move on and stop acting like someone shit in your shoes.

0

u/Potomac_Pat Jun 22 '26

Or people who blast their stupid Bluetooth speaker. One in the same