(Point) Missers, 2026 U.S. Open
Those who had less than ideal weeks at Shinnecock Hills, including Scheffler, DeChambeau, mashers, tappers, the fan experience, reserved statnds, rollback rollbackers and more.
And now for the tough love…
Whatever that was. The weekend antics amounted to something far more complex and perverse than simply chalking up the rudeness to Islanders being Islanders (again). There were no issues the first few days, and much of the crowd was not from Long Island. The galleries seemed pretty wonderful the first few days. They knew good golf and seemed genuinely appreciative to watch the best take on a magnificent course. But Sunday will be remembered as the most bizarre fan behavior in modern golf history (Old Tom v. Willie at Musselburgh has its own special place). The circumstances, allegiances and crowd demographics were different than last fall’s Ryder Cup, making the situation even more perplexing given the supposed lack of partisanship. These were Americans turning on an American playing his own ball and getting no empathy from his fellow playing competitor as jaggoffs hurled insults and entire grandstands cheered misfortune. For all of the overserved nimrods who live a tad too vicariously through the inbred-adjacent grievance machine (who are dear friends of the USGA!), the hostility toward good play was hard to believe. A massive number of seemingly traditional U.S. Open fans applauded poor outcomes and would not acknowledge Clark’s great shots. Early in the round, some of this could be chalked up to the size of his (six-stroke) lead. Maybe fans just wanted a close contest in the same way a tennis crowd can sometimes turn against someone running away with a match. Underlying factors may also include the perception that golfers are overpaid and are now fair game for heckling in the same ways fan abuse has surfaced in other sports. Clark kindly, even admirably, blamed it on the fans rooting for his playing partner pursuing the career Grand Slam (on Father’s Day, ICYMI). But the crowds were hardly sounding like the new Arnie’s Army in willing Scheffler to a win over the pesky young Nicklaus. Maybe the whole episode is just a one-off that confirmed George Carlin’s take on groups of otherwise seemingly nice people.
“People are wonderful. I love individuals. I hate groups of people. I hate a group of people with a ‘common purpose’. ‘Cause pretty soon they have little hats. And armbands. And fight songs. And a list of people they’re going to visit at 3 am. So, I dislike and despise groups of people but I love individuals. Every person you look at; you can see the universe in their eyes, if you’re really looking.”
Scottie Scheffler. Golfers have never been the most dazzling sector of pro athletics. But they’ve always been revered by fans, sponsors, and other athletes because of their graciousness and uncanny tendency to act like no other athletes. Some of the classiness is a product of golf’s slow pace, which allows for sportsmanship instincts to take in, say, a long birdie putt from the fairway and pulling out a white flag to wave in mock surrender. Or conceding a putt that’ll leave the contest tied and the greater purpose of a team match from becoming something chippier than a goodwill exhibition. At Shinnecock, Scottie Scheffler was repeatedly given the opportunity to add himself to the list of all-time greats who also could read the room. Turns out, he ultimately wanted to win the U.S. Open more than sticking up for his fellow competitor and the right thing to do. He chalked up the harassment of Clark up to being in “the arena.” Sure, maybe in ultimate fighting. But this is golf. Sadly, his veteran caddie and man of faith also chose winning at all costs over dignity. Thankfully, Clark rose above it all to prevent the 126th from being remembered as the championship where fans cost someone a win.
Mashing and tapping. Any time Scheffler has a lie in the rough, he presses the grass down behind the ball to test the lie instead of accepting his fate. Any time Clark had a short putt, he began using his mallet to smooth the green without actually repairing damage, as the rules require. Scheffler too. The 2019 changes to the Rules destroyed “play it as it lies,” so now it has come to the thing the rules world feared most: players smoothing out their lines because no one wants to call them out.
Bryson DeChambeau. The new prototype drivers that were proudly touted in a War And Peace-length statement by Taylormade failed to fix iron play that’s plagued his major championship play for two years running. Time to try something else after another major missed cut. Until then, at least he has those prototypes...
Q. Incredible driver out there. I think it was, what, 427?
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: I think so. That’s my longest drive ever on tour, which is great.
Q. That’s obviously working. We’re feeling good about that going into tomorrow?
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah, it’s great. Excited to hopefully showcase it more, and hopefully it stays in the same track because that’s what I’ve been feeling with it, and hopefully it stays the same.
Q. Anything special we’re doing tonight to prepare for tomorrow?
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Chocolate milk.
Purse increases for purse increases sake. There was a time when folks received a pay raise when they delivered the goods and earned an increase in compensation. So it was more than a tad confusing to see the USGA increase the U.S. Open purse by $1 million (to $22.5 million) given no apparent reason other than to keep up with the unsustainable purse race. Worse, they’re paying more for a superstar-light field that can’t break 5:30 in threesomes or 4:30 in twosomes. Despite players whining (and lying) incessantly about the “Distance Insights” process, the USGA decided to throw the field more money even when the numbers say today’s Adonis’ aren’t any bigger draw. Fans flooded the exit gates long before the round is over and ratings barely held their own even with the 20% Big Data boost (for the second most-watched East Coast U.S. Open played on a coast at a club with members whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower, since 2013…🥳).
Fan Experience.