Wyndham Clark is challenging the Chicago-area fans.
Clark won his Thursday four-ball match with partner Collin Morikawa on the first day of the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah No. 3, playing stellar golf and helping the U.S. take a 3-2 lead against the Internationals. However, after the match he wanted to make a statement to fans attending to back the red, white and blue the next three days.
Clark called out fans to be louder and help the USA with momentum more than they did Thursday.
"It was kind of dead out there," Clark said. "I felt like the momentum could have been better, to be honest, because we weren't really feeling the fans, I think, as much as normal.
"There was a few shots, I mean, Collin hit a 5-wood on, what was it, 11 to like 10 feet,
and we didn't even know if it was on the green because no one clapped. It was a little surprising. We'd make some big putts, I'm saying this more as a challenge that hopefully tomorrow and the weekend the fans are out there really rooting us on, and regardless of what happens, we have the momentum."
Clark isn't the first U.S. player in recent years to ask fans to step it up on the golf course. Ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup, where fan behavior crossed a line, Morikawa asked for fans to bring the chaos, but even those fans on and around the first tee didn't have much juice throughout the competition at Bethpage Black.
Perhaps Clark calling out the fans will result in a better environment come Friday and the weekend. For the Internationals, they'll hope for the opposite.
Wyndham Clark calling out the fans at Medinah: "These guys are going to laugh, but it was kind of dead out there. I felt like the momentum could have been better, to be honest, because we weren't really feeling the fans, I think, as much as normal.
ā Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) September 24, 2026
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U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker agreed with Clark but expressed faith in the Chicago-area fans.
"It was a weird day. I really felt like the fans were out there and they were there, but the 1st tee was loud, and then it just kind of dissipated as the day went on. I don't know why," Snedeker said. "I think part of it was because the golf course was set up pretty difficult. There was some really tough pins out there, so it was really hard to get a lot of birdies going. You've got guys going crazy, I guess. And there's some tough viewing out there on some of the holes where people really couldn't see what was going on.
"I know what Chicago is built of. I know what kind of fans we've got here. They'll come out tomorrow. We've just got to go out and play good golf."
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Wyndham Clark calls out Presidents Cup fans: 'It was kind of dead out there'
