Presidents Cup 2026: Wyndham Clark is looking for one thing at Medinah that's been missing this year—a little love
Ben Jared
MEDINAH, Ill. — Everyone Likes to be Liked. That was a chapter title in Jack Nicklaus’ 1996 autobiography, My Story. For several years Jack Nicklaus was considered the villain as he overtook the immensely popular Arnold Palmer as the best player in professional golf. Eventually, fans came around to appreciate the Golden Bear for his sustained excellence.
Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champion, would welcome a smidgen of appreciation this week when he competes for the United States in the 16th Presidents Cup. In Thursday’s opening four-ball session at Medinah Country Club’s No. 3 course, Clark teams with Collin Morikawa at 1:49 p.m. ET against Australia’s Adam Scott and British Open winner Ryan Fox of New Zealand in the only game replete with major winners.
Clark, 32, has become quite the polarizing figure in the game for reasons he doesn’t understand, though he seems quite certain who is responsible. He complained at the Tour Championship that in all six of his PGA Tour wins, including his victory over the popular Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy at the BMW Championship the previous week in St. Louis, he was not the people’s choice.
“The media has made me out to be the villain, if you will. I don't feel like I'm that person,” he said Wednesday afternoon at Medinah. “Eventually it would be nice if people were rooting for me and someone else was the underdog, if you will.”
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OK, well, sure, it was indeed a member of the media who captured a picture of the damage he did to his locker at last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, a highly embarrassing and reprehensible fit of anger. That didn’t help matters. More than likely, though, that one act alone merely contributed to a persona that folks have been reluctant to embrace.
Clark’s Bellerive victory was the second time he had stymied McIlroy, the six-time major winner, after he emerged with his first U.S. Open title at the Los Angeles Country Club in 2023. Then at this year’s Open at Shinnecock Hills, he held off World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, even as the New York crowd vehemently cheered his poor shots and jeered often for his good ones.
He does seem to invite some unwelcoming receptions. His decision to don a U.S. Olympic hockey team jersey at the RBC Canadian Open (after the U.S. beat Canada for the gold medal earlier in the year), naturally riled up the fans north of the border.
“That was a friendly chirp that I did to the Canadians,” Clark said with a grin. “I mentioned it to a couple of guys like Nick Taylor and [Taylor] Pendrith, and brought it up, and they’re like, ‘Man, you’re not going to do that, are you?’ I said, “Hell, yeah, I am.’
“I would love to be one of the guys that gets the fans going, gets the team going, and hopefully get us a Cup.”
Ranked fifth in the world, Clark is enjoying a career year with three wins, and yet any satisfaction he finds he has to derive from within. “I know everyone maybe gives me a hard time and roots for other people, but I feel like I've kind of come into my own,” he said. “I’ve embraced it. I’ve kind of been the underdog in all of my wins, and I've just accepted that and enjoy that moment.”
Clark hung tough on Sunday at Shinnecock to win his second U.S. Open despite not being the fan favorite.
Mike Mulholland
He can only hope things change at Medinah and the largely pro-American gallery embraces him in a way he has yet to experience.
“Yeah, if I don’t get love at the Presidents Cup, as a USA guy, then I don’t know, I might move to Mexico or something,” he said at Bellerive.
On Wednesday, he sounded a bit more optimistic.
“I think, if it happened throughout my career, yeah, it would maybe be a bummer,” Clark said of the chance that his black-hat identity were to perpetuate. “We’ll see. Hopefully things are trending and changing in the right direction.”