Golf influencer Paige Spiranac defended Wyndham Clark after he was treated poorly by fans during the U.S. Open last week, saying the hate has “been taken too far.”

The model and social media personality, who has over 1 million followers on X, has known Clark since she was 12.

“The hate for Wyndham Clark doesn’t make sense to me,” Spiranac wrote. “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.”

The fiery emotion she is referring to is when Clark smashed lockers at historic Oakmont after missing the cut by a single stroke in 2025.

He was subsequently banned until he paid for the damage, made a charitable contribution, completed anger management and publicly apologized.

As a response, fans at Shinnecock Hills were brutal to the American golfer, yelling things like “don’t choke Wyndham” and “get in the bunker” before or while he was swinging and cheering when he hit poor shots.

“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,” Spiranac said. “I just feel that it’s been taken too far at this point.”

Clark’s competitors seem to agree with the social media star. Both Scottie Scheffler and Keegan Bradley said they were surprised at the reception Clark got.

Bradley attributed it to the sport’s growth and said the “different group of people coming to these tournaments” has created a new atmosphere.

“There has been a shift in recent years where people have become downright nasty,” Spiranac said.

“Maybe it’s exhaustion from life beating us all down or the lack of consequences of being hateful online. But it’s noticeable.”