Tom Kim of South Korea, a passionate player for the Internationals in the Presidents Cup match against the United States, claimed that rivals had cursed at him and his partner Kim Si-woo on Saturday.
At Royal Montreal, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele defeated the South Korean pair 1 up, giving the US team an 11-7 lead going into Sunday’s 12 final singles matches.
In what turned into an intense match, both Kims made long putts to win holes. Kim Si-woo even made an NBA “goodnight” gesture to Stephen Curry after winning the 16th hole with a 40-foot chip from the greenside rough.
“My favorite NBA player is Steph Curry, so that’s what I did,” Kim Si-woo said. “It didn’t finish well, but yeah, I was excited.”
Tom Kim said the emotions brought out unsportsmanlike behavior.
“As it got towards the end, it got a little feisty out there,” Tom Kim said. “I could hear some players cursing at us. I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there. But it’s all part of the fun. I understand it.
“The US team definitely motivated us to go out there.”
Tom Kim, who sank a 38-foot putt to win the ninth, was encouraging fans to cheer and fist-pumping as clutch putts fell on the back nine.
“You see me out there throwing fist pumps and jumping on the green. It’s all part of it,” he said. “I just don’t think there’s a need to look at someone and curse at them. I just don’t think there’s a need for it.
“My feelings don’t hurt at all.”
Second-ranked Schauffele, who won two majors this year, and Cantlay said they knew nothing about any abuse directed toward their Korean rivals.
“I felt like Pat and I, we treated the Kims with the utmost respect. We’re trying to quiet the crowds down when they were hitting,” said Schauffele.
“I have no clue if anyone was doing any of that. I don’t believe any of our guys would do something like that. So I’m not sure what he was hearing.”
Cantlay admitted, “I didn’t even know what the goodnight gesture was until about 10 minutes ago,” and said he wasn’t affected by the Kims emotional actions.
“I don’t care what they do,” he said. “I know they’re going to get amped up if they make birdies. They made a ton of birdies. They got amped up in front of the home crowd. That’s great for golf. We just made one more birdie.”
The Americans, who boast 12 of the world’s 25 top-ranked golfers, own a 12-1-1 lead in the all-time rivalry.
Down 11-7, the Internationals must capture 8.5 points from 12 Sunday singles matches to avoid a 10th consecutive defeat, their only win coming in 1998 at Royal Melbourne.
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