Matt Fitzpatrick joined the growing chorus of players concerned about the impact gambling is having on crowd behaviour.<\/p>\n
Wyndham Clark\u2019s treatment on Sunday at Shinnecock, where the eventual U.S. Open champion faced repeated issues of jeers and heckling, has been the latest flashback regarding the deterioration of fan etiquette. There were a number of issues last year, underlined in the fall by the hostile gallery at the Bethpage Black during the Ryder Cup, with the Europeans and particularly Rory McIlroy being harassed throughout three days outside New York City. Though nothing has risen to those heights (or lows) in 2026, crowd behaviour continues to be a common theme throughout the calendar. Fitzpatrick knows this better than most, receiving \u201cUSA!\u201d cheers in his face at both the Players Championship and RBC Heritage.<\/p>\n
While in Fitzpatrick\u2019s case it may be tribal, others in golf have observed what\u2019s been happening outside the ropes and developed their own compelling theory: The growth of sports betting has only intensified this trajectory, creating financial incentives for disruptive behaviour that were previously absent from the game. Jordan Spieth recently echoed these worries at the John Deere Classic last month, noting \u201cBetting in golf is something that\u2019s going to have to be tackled here soon.\u201d Speaking to the media this week at the Open Championship, Fitzpatrick expressed worry about gambling\u2019s upshot in professional golf.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just look at all the messages people get \u2014 footballers, tennis players, you name it, everyone\u2019s getting messages of, oh, you missed that penalty; you cost me this. Oh, you didn\u2019t make a birdie; it cost me this. I\u2019ve had my fair share,\u201d Fitzpatrick said at Royal Birkdale. \u201cI would say every golfer that\u2019s played a professional tournament has had a message of abuse from someone that is related to gambling. I mean, you could see it this week. You go and type in a player\u2019s name who maybe isn\u2019t playing well, maybe someone who\u2019s favoured to play well, you type the name into Twitter, and you\u2019ll just see their name followed by abuse after abuse after abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
RELATED: Here\u2019s the record payout for each golfer at Royal Birkdale<\/a><\/p>\n Fitzpatrick said he doesn\u2019t abstain from betting and that he has some low-stakes bets on England to win the World Cup. But, as he noted, that wouldn\u2019t cause him to go after English players if they played poorly.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are obviously individuals who have that problem. I don\u2019t know, obviously, I don\u2019t condone gambling in the slightest,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s definitely becoming a problem, and the issue is, particularly in golf, it would be very easy to influence a bet, whether it\u2019s you\u2019re shouting on someone\u2019s backswing, shouting on a putting stroke. It\u2019s really easy. Obviously, that is really hard to monitor, but it is definitely an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking later in the afternoon, Clark also asserted that gambling has a role in crowd behaviour. \u201cI think it\u2019s definitely one of the factors,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThe amount of times we hear guys in tournaments saying, oh, Wyndham, I have you 30-to-1 to win this week or 100-to-1, I\u2019m betting on you. That happens all the time. So I do think in some instances that is definitely one of the culprits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n MORE GOLF DIGEST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE<\/p>\n Everything you need to know about this year\u2019s major at Royal Birkdale<\/a><\/p>\n The Open Championship is not called \u201cThe British\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n After hitting the opening tee shot at the U.S. Open, James Nicholas qualifies<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s everybody in the field (so far) at Royal Birkdale<\/a><\/p>\n Follow Golf Digest Middle East on social media<\/p>\n