Presidents Cup 2026: Wyndham Clark calls out Chicago crowd for being too quiet

MEDINAH, Ill. — For the second time this year, Wyndham Clark feels the volume outside the ropes needs to be turned up.

Following a commanding performance on Day 1 at the Presidents Cup, Clark was asked about the idea of momentum in match play. The two-time U.S. Open champ had an interesting response. While first noticing how getting up big early can correlate to a “lull,” Clark asserted he needed more from the fans.

“The momentum was on our side early. I do want … and these guys are going to laugh, but it was kind of dead out there,” Clark said Thursday evening. “I felt like the momentum could have been better, to be honest, because we weren't really feeling the fans, I think, as much as normal.”

The atmosphere around the first tee at the start of the day was raucous. However, the stands emptied out before the final two matches went out, and while the crowd sizes were solid for a Thursday, at times it did lack the environment one expects from these events.

“There was a few shots—I mean, Collin [Morikawa] hit a 5-wood on, what was it, 11 to like 10 feet, and we didn't even know if it was on the green because no one clapped,” Clark continued. “It was a little surprising. We'd make some big putts—I'm saying this more as a challenge that hopefully tomorrow and the weekend the fans are out there really rooting us on, and regardless of what happens, we have the momentum."

Earlier this summer, Clark noted the small crowd sizes at the U.S. Open on Saturday. “Yeah, 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 that Saturday evening. “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.”

Unfortunately for Clark, he had to deal with a crowd the following day that often went over the line in cheering against him, albeit one that couldn’t stop him from capturing the national championship.

Clark is again teaming up with Morikawa on Friday, going against Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee.

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