PAIGE SPIRANAC has leapt to the defense of Wyndham Clark after his US Open win.
Clark, 32, edged to victory at Shinnecock Hills and stopped world No 1 Scottie Scheffler from winning the Grand Slam.
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Paige Spiranac believes abuse towards Wynham Clark has been ‘taken too far’ Credit: Instagram @_paige.renee
Golf’s badboy Clark won his second US Open title despite constant heckling from the crowd Credit: Getty
He followed up on his 2023 triumph, but was jeered by fans as some were removed for yelling: “Don’t choke” before taking his shot.
Clark has faced stern criticism over his ‘bad boy’ image and past behavior after he smashed up a locker room having missed the cut at last year’s US Open.
He kept his cool this year by defeating Sam Burns by one shot despite constant heckling from the crowd.
And golf influencer Spiranac has hit out at the abuse towards Clark and says it has been “taken too far” by fans.
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She wrote on X: “The hate for Wyndham Clark doesn’t make sense to me.
“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.
“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.”
Spiranac has faced her own share of abuse after revealing last year she received death threats following allegations of cheating at the Internet Invitational.
Clark admitted the fans were ‘tough’ on him and said some of the abuse was ‘self deserved’ Credit: Getty
The 32-year-old is one of the biggest stars in golf and has 4million followers on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Clark broke his silence on the abuse after his US Open win and admitted the jeers was partially “self-deserved” due to his past behaviour.
He said: “The crowd was tough today. I mean, man, New Yorkers, they are tough people!
“I think sometimes it can get a little too much when balls are kind of going off greens and you start hearing cheers. That felt a bit much to me.
“Man, they definitely didn’t want me to win. It’s pretty rare in a Major to have fans boo against your shots, or cheer for bad shots.
“You know, some of it’s self-deserved. I kind of brought it on myself, so I get that too. And Scottie was going for the career Grand Slam, and that hasn’t happened very often.
“It sucks being the underdog or getting rooted against. But I’ve shown I can pull through when I’m in that position.
“There’s nothing like winning kind of an away game, if you will. So yeah, this one was tough.
“But I’m proud of myself that I battled through. Things really could have gotten away from me, but I stood firm.”