Wyndham Clark Calls Presidents Cup Crowd 'Kind of Dead'

Wyndham Clark is challenging Chicago-area golf fans to bring more energy to Medinah Country Club after the opening day of the 2026 Presidents Cup.

Clark and partner Collin Morikawa won their Thursday four-ball match as the United States built a 3-2 lead over the International team, but Clark said the crowd noise did not match the moment. "It was kind of dead out there," Clark said after the round, adding that he and Morikawa sometimes could not tell if a shot had found the green because the gallery stayed quiet.

What did Wyndham Clark say about the Presidents Cup crowd?

Clark described a specific example from the back nine, when Morikawa hit a 5-wood approach to roughly 10 feet and the gallery did not react. He framed his comments as a challenge for the rest of the week rather than a complaint about Thursday alone, saying he hopes fans show up louder for Friday's foursomes and the weekend singles matches. Clark is not the first American player in recent years to ask galleries to get louder; Morikawa made a similar appeal ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where crowd noise around the opening tee still fell short of expectations.

How did U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker respond?

Snedeker agreed the atmosphere started strong and faded, but defended the Chicago fans, saying the difficult pin positions Medinah's Course No. 3 presented Thursday limited birdie chances and, with them, the loudest roars. He also pointed to sightline issues on some holes that made it hard for spectators to see shots land. Snedeker said he expects the crowd to be louder as the International team's four-day visit continues.

A U.S. player publicly challenging the home crowd, one round into a four-day match, is itself a signal of how much the Americans are leaning on that atmosphere.

The Presidents Cup continues Friday with foursomes play at Medinah, where the Americans will look for both points and a louder gallery.