Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick and, of course, Team Europe have all felt the wrath of American golf fans in recent months. Jordan Spieth believes it goes way deeper than you might think…

For the first time in a long time, the biggest talking point at the US Open wasn’t the course setup or, indeed, the champion. It was the behavior of the crowd.

For the second time in less than a year, the New York galleries were in full voice in a bid to unsettle their preferred loser. While the vitriol toward the European team at the Ryder Cup in September was unpalatable, at least it made sense. But a few miles further along Long Island last month, the mobs were actively rooting against one of their own in Wyndham Clark – with cries of “get in the bunker” echoing around Shinnecock Hills on that tense Sunday showdown.

Speaking ahead of the John Deere Classic – a tournament he has won twice, including his maiden PGA Tour title in 2013 – Jordan Spieth was asked if we need more nice people at golf tournaments.

“If you could figure that out, I think we’d rather have it running each country around the world versus worried about golf tournaments,” he joked.

But the three-time major champion, who will return to Royal Birkdale later this month for the first time since winning The Open on the Merseyside links in 2017, does have a theory about the trouble.  

After describing the behavior at Shinnecock as “unique circumstances”, Spieth added: “Betting in golf is something that’s going to have to be tackled here soon.

“I don’t know how much of the Wyndham [Clark] scenario was the fact that it was enticing to bet the field versus Wyndham on Sunday in a legalized betting state, and you could have had people out there that essentially have $100 to $10,000, depending on who it is, on the field versus somebody else.”

The problem, Spieth explained, is that fans can influence the a single golf shot by, say, shouting during a player’s backswing.

“In golf it’s tricky because you could actually impact the outcome if you wanted to,” he added. “It may not last very long, but you could impact a shot if you wanted to. I don’t know of another sport that you could impact as a fan like you can golf.

“So I don’t know how much that’s having to do with it, if it’s different than it used to be.”

Elsewhere, Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick has also been on the wrong end of the abuse in recent months – notably when he was fighting with Cameron Young for the Players Championship title, and then when he got the better of Scottie Scheffler at the RBC Heritage.

But, Spieth concluded, the abuse isn’t “a crazy new thing” – more the reasons behind it.

“I’ve played rounds with guys who were not treated well 10, 15 years ago. I do think the Bethpage Ryder Cup was, from what I understand, a lingering effect from that with America versus Europea. Cam Young, Fitzpatrick, The Players. I’m trying to single them out for you, but I wasn’t a part of either one of them. I will say that, from what I’ve seen, a lot of times it has to do with betting, and that is in the last five years.

“We’ll see what happens with that.”