The Presidents Cup often brings one of the loudest crowds on the professional golf calendar. However, the opening day at Medinah certainly didn't feel that way as the United States took a narrow 3-2 lead.
The lack of atmosphere wasn't just noticeable on the television broadcast; Wyndham Clark felt it as well during his four-ball match with Collin Morikawa.
"It was kind of dead out there," Clark said Thursday, according to Cameron Jourdan of Golf Week. "I felt like the momentum could have been better, to be honest, because we weren't really feeling the fans ... as much as normal."
Clark gave the home fans plenty of reason to cheer throughout the day, making four birdies over the first eight holes of action. His parter, Morikawa, was also red-hot, helping to dispatch the team of Ryan Fox and Adam Scott 3&2 on the day.
The crowd noise didn't necessarily match the American duo's standout performance - something Clark hopes will change going forward.
"Collin hit a 5-wood on 11 to like 10 feet and we didn't even know if it was on the green because no one clapped," Clark said. "So, it was a little surprising. And we'd make some big putts - I'm saying this more as a challenge that hopefully tomorrow and (during) the weekend the fans are out there really rooting us on, and regardless of what happens, we have the momentum."
Part of the reason the atmosphere may have been lacking was how difficult the course played down the stretch. The four-ball format usually brings plenty of birdies and explosive moments, but that wasn't the case during the closing holes at Medinah.
There were 37 holes played over the five matches Thursday, with the 10 teams in action combining for only 22 total birdies.
