Presidents Cup: Paul McGinley hits out at ‘disrespectful’ Tom Kim

Tom Kim has been accused of bad sportsmanship during an explosive start to the Presidents Cup.

Kim – one of the stars of the International team – was riling up the crowds in Montreal before his fourball match against American duo Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley on Thursday afternoon.

And right from the start, things were simmering.

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On the seventh, with the International team already two down to the much-fancied US pair, Kim celebrated wildly and screamed “Come on!” after holing a 35ft putt for birdie.

Scheffler responded as Scheffler does.

The world No.1 sunk his own lengthy effort to ensure they retained their 2up advantage. In an impassioned outburst, he then hit back at Kim, yelling “What was that?!” in the 22-year-old’s direction. Things seemed pretty innocent between the two friends at this stage.

But on the eighth green, the heat was turned up a notch. Kim and his playing partner Sungjae Im had finished the hole but instead of waiting for Scheffler to putt out for a half, walked off 60 yards to the 9th tee box.

Scheffler duly missed, and so the first controversy of this year’s Presidents Cup began.

Paul McGinley, watching on in the commentary box, was less than impressed with the Korean duo’s etiquette.

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“That’s bordering on bad behaviour there. That’s disrespectful in my opinion,” McGinley opined. “I know its competitive out there but it certainly shows you there’s an underlying edge there and its not all fun and games.”

The Irishman continued: “You outsmart yourself. The instigator is the one who suffers more than the recipient of what happened. It was very uncharacteristic behaviour.”

Rich Beem concurred back in the Sky Sports studio: “I agree with Paul McGinley,” he said. “They should have stuck by the side of the green.”

Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley chimed in: “Sometimes I don’t think there’s any need for it. Let the golf clubs do the talking.”

The fallout continued inside the ropes.

NBC on-course reporter John Wood noted that vice-captains Kevin Kisner and Camilo Villegas “had some words” after Kim and Im walked off the green early.

“I’m not sure what was said, but it didn’t look all that friendly to be honest with you,” Wood noted.

Scheffler and Kim are close friends off the course and practice together back home in Dallas, but this was anything but jovial in the heart of battle.

“I think that Tom Kim goes round to Scheffler’s place for dinner,” Riley added in the studio. “He might be coming round for dinner but he won’t be getting any more than beans and toast.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.