Keegan Bradley 'Surprised' By 'Unfortunate' US Open Jeers - But Wyndham Clark Reveals Why It Shows 'Golf Is Cool Right Now'

Is the rise of controversial crowd behavior such as at the US Open down to golf now branching out and attracting more general sports fans? Keegan Bradley thinks so, and even Wyndham Clark thinks it's a good thing.

Bradley did say it was "unfortunate" that a proportion of the crowd at Shinnecock Hills was so overtly cheering against Clark during the US Open - in arguably the toughest atmosphere an American has faced trying to win his national championship.

Battling Scottie Scheffler chasing the Grand Slam didn't help, but many still feel shouts of "get in the bunker" and cheering Clark's bad shots overstepped the mark.

Bradley knows a thing or two about rowdy New York crowds from his Ryder Cup captaincy, and although this was nowhere near the level of nearby Bethpage Black it has led to further criticism of what some feel is a worrying growing culture of fans going too far.

Bradley, though, feels it just shows that golf is now capturing the public imagination, and attracting fans that are usually attending different sports such as at NBA or NFL games.

And there's not many fanbases more vocal than those in the New York area.

"I think that golf is in the process of leaving just the golf world, where people are coming to tournaments that are sports fans and that's how people in New York cheer on the Knicks or the Giants or whatever," said Bradley at the Travelers Championship.

"And they're coming to tournaments and they're sports fans, and they're golfers, but I think that we're entering a time where the game is really growing in popularity."

Bradley believes more fans are now coming to golf tournaments to enjoy themselves ahead of watching the best golfers in the planet - but that's all part of a sport growing outside it's usual demographic.

"I think people are coming to golf tournaments to have a good time," he added.

"I found it a little surprising, considering Wyndham's American, and at the US Open, but Scottie Scheffler's a really popular player going for the Grand Slam.

"Unfortunate, but hey, I mean, Wyndham won, so he handled it really well. I think it's just, we're in an interesting time here where golf is really taking off and we're seeing a different group of people coming to these tournaments."

'Golf is cool right now' - Clark

And even Clark, who was on the wrong end of the crowd, insisted that it's a good thing a newer audience is coming out to watch the sport.

"I don't really see any negative in more people coming to the golf," said Clark, even though he had to battle against the fans all day on Sunday.

"I think of, jokingly think of Happy Gilmore when he first came out and they had all those crazy fans, when he played in that movie.

"But I think that's good. It brings new audiences. I think it's great for the game of golf. Golf is cool right now.

"That's going to bring cool people, and they're going to want to watch golf and they might react differently. I think maybe it's a little different in New York than maybe other places, but, no, I think it's all good."

What are your thoughts on the US Open crowd or golf fans in general? Is there too much bad behavior or does golf need to roll with the times? Let us know by joining the conversation below...