Collin Morikawa Reacts to Spectators Heckling Wyndham Clark at the US Open

Golf crowds operate on a different code than other sports, and the US Open treatment of Wyndham Clark tested where that code ends. Asked on the show about the heckling that, in some cases, got spectators removed from the premises, Collin Morikawa drew a firm line about what is and is not acceptable inside the ropes.

"Definitely don't be saying anything, talking while we're swinging," Morikawa said. "While we're actually hitting the shot." Beyond that, he framed the boundary as a matter of personal conduct. "There's a line of what you can and can't say. I think that's people's ethics and morals that you have to determine yourself."

If Morikawa had criticism, it was not for Clark. "I think Wyndham handled it amazingly," he said. "He was very poised about it. And he proved that his golf game was good enough to beat all of us." Morikawa speaks from a place of familiarity, having gotten to know Clark well over the past few years, including time together on the Olympic team. He acknowledged Clark has expressed regret over some of his own actions in the past year, then turned it inward. "I regret a couple things that I've done," Morikawa said. "But you have to learn and move on from it."

The conversation widened to a thornier question: whether New York should keep hosting major events at all. Golf Channel's Eamon Lynch had floated doubts after the weekend, pointing back to the European Ryder Cup players' treatment last year. Morikawa was reluctant to paint with a broad brush. "It's hard to generalize a full state and a population like that," he said, though he conceded that last year's Ryder Cup "definitely crossed some lines when you're throwing stuff at people."

Morikawa's deeper point was about the intimacy of the sport itself. Golf lets fans stand right next to a rope, he noted, where the rope is "the definition of what you can't cross," a setup unlike a stadium where players cannot hear anything. He has no interest in pushing fans away. "I love playing in New York," he said. "I think Bethpage was awesome." Could the Clark situation have been handled better? Yes, he allowed. But he does not think New York deserves to lose its events.

Instead, Morikawa pointed to the energy that makes a week special, citing the crowd at the Travelers Championship as the kind of atmosphere players crave. The goal, in his framing, is simple: keep the energy, lose the line-crossing, and let people enjoy it for what it is.