NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
It’s safe to say that Jordan Spieth wants sports fandom to go back to the way it was.
Before the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Illinois, Spieth was asked if he felt the crowds of golfers were getting louder as a result of Wyndham Clark’s treatment at the U.S. Open, and Spieth attributed much of that to gambling.
“I think golf betting is something that’s going to have to be addressed here soon,” Spieth said, unprovoked.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Jordan Spieth lines up a putt on the tenth green during the first round of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 5, 2026. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
“I don’t know how much of, say, the Wyndham scenario was because it was tempting to bet on the field against Wyndham on Sunday in a legalized betting state, and you could have had people who basically had, you know, $100 to $10,000, depending on who it was, on the field against somebody else.
“In golf, it’s tricky because you can actually impact the outcome if you want to. It may not last very long, but you can impact a shot if you want. I don’t know of any other sport that you can have an impact on as a fan like you can with golf. So I don’t know how much of that has to do with it, if it’s any different than it was.”
Jordan Spieth of the United States tees off the third hole during the second round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 5, 2026 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) ((Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))
XANDER SCHAUFFELE DISCUSS ‘PASSIONATE’ NEW YORK GOLF FANS AFTER RYDER CUP, WYNDHAM CLARK VITRIOL
Spieth said the fan vitriol is not “a crazy new thing” but that most of it “is now related to betting, and that goes back to the last five years.”
You should know that Spieth was once a FanDuel ambassador.
Clark’s taunts took place at Shinnecock Hills in the Hamptons, about 60 miles from Bethpage Black, where fans were the subject of controversy at the Ryder Cup. This prompted Golf Channel’s Eamon Lynch to call Long Island fans a “stain” on golf who didn’t deserve another major golf event in their area.
Jordan Spieth tees off on the fourth hole during the second round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on February 16, 2024. (Ryan Kang/AP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Sports gambling has been legalized in 39 states since 2018 – only Nevada had previously allowed it. Thirty-two of these states, including Illinois, allow online betting.
