Paige Spiranac has fired off on Wyndham Clark’s ‘tiresome’ critics and argued that the US Open champion is simply misunderstood.
The stunning golf influencer, who has known Clark since he was 12 years old, leapt to the defense of her longtime friend on social media after he picked up his second major championship in a hostile atmosphere at the weekend.
As he survived a nervy final day to prevail at Shinnecock Hills, Clark was subjected to brutal treatment from spectators who cheered his misses and heckled him, with police even throwing out fans for shouting abuse at him.
The 32-year-old has become a villain in golf largely due to an incident which happened over a year ago at the same tournament. At the 2025 US Open, Clark smashed up the locker room at Oakmont after missing the cut by a single stroke, having previously thrown his driver after a bad shot at the PGA Championship months earlier.
Clark has therefore become an unpopular figure amongst fans, but Spiranac believes the criticism of him has ‘been taken too far’ by some.
‘The hate for Wyndham Clark doesn’t make sense to me,’ she wrote to her 1.1 million followers on X. ‘People complain constantly that golfers are boring and show no emotion. But then you have someone who has a fiery, competitive spirit and that’s also a problem.
Paige Spiranac has fired off on Wyndham Clark’s critics and claimed he is misunderstood
Clark claimed his second US Open championship in a hostile atmosphere over the weekend
‘I understand the need for a villain in sports but beating people down for every little mistake especially after they took accountability is just tiresome. I just feel that it’s been taken too far at this point.’
One user then replied to Spiranac: ‘There’s a difference between “fiery, competitive spirit” & just simply being a douchebag. Clark is the latter by all accounts.’
‘I’ve known him since he was 12,’ she responded. ‘I’ve never seen that side of him in person. It’s just crazy people can make such a snap judgement about someone without ever meeting them’.
Clark suffered a brutal start to his final round in New York on Sunday, bogeying three of his first seven holes to allow his rivals to dream of a huge late comeback.
Fans on site also appeared to have similar hopes, with his early collapse leading to multiple fans jeering the leader – seemingly praying for his demise.
In the end, he silenced his critics by producing one of the biggest rounds of his life to win the championship in the most hostile of atmospheres.
‘New York didn’t really like me,’ Clark said at the trophy ceremony. ‘I love you guys.
‘But I get it. Some of it’s self deserved. I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret, and I’ve said sorry multiple times, and I’m still sorry. So, hopefully, I can win you guys over eventually.’
The two-time major winner is disliked after smashing up the US Open locker room in 2025
But Spirinac insists Clark, who she has known since he was 12, is simply ‘fiery and competitive’
Fresh off his second major triumph, Clark made a bombshell claim during an appearance on Barstool’s ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast Wednesday.
The two-time major winner revealed that his ex-girlfriend allegedly cheated on him back in 2016 with NFL quarterback Baker Mayfield, who attended college in Oakland at roughly the same time as him.
When the podcast hosts pulled up one of his old tweets which read ‘I hate baker mayfield’ back in 2016, the golfer said: ‘I’m trying to decide if I should tell the story… alright screw it I don’t care. People already hate me.’
He then alleged that his girlfriend at the time was unfaithful to him with Mayfield, who was playing college football for the University of Oklahoma in 2016. Clark was at Oklahoma State University before leaving for the University of Oregon that summer.
‘My girlfriend at the time cheated on me with Baker Mayfield,’ he claimed. ‘But here’s what I would say: I’m actually a Baker fan now, I think he’s a homie.
‘That’s your initial response, “Screw that guy.” But really it’s screw the [girlfriend].’
