Tom Kim accuses US rivals of lacking ‘sportsmanship’ as tensions rise at Presidents Cup

It’s certainly been one of the more ill-tempered Presidents Cup in the competition’s short history.

And Tom Kim has been the hero and villain of the show.

The South Korean was labelled “disrespectful” on Thursday and he criticised the crowds at Royal Montreal before captain Mike Weir benched him for Friday’s foursomes as the Internationals fought back from 0-5 with a whitewash of their own to pull the match level.

But Kim returned on Saturday and immediately sent a message to his skipper with a 4&3 thumping of Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark alongside Si Woo Kim.

And the win was capped off – pun intended – with this smooth move before the winning putt had even dropped…

4&3. Hats off to these two. pic.twitter.com/yPBBQkOspe

— Skratch (@Skratch) September 28, 2024

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Kim and his namesake returned for the afternoon foursomes to take on Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele – and he was clearly riled up when the Americans forced him to putt from what he believed was ‘gimme’ range.

After dispatching of the knee-knocker, Kim made his feelings very clear, returning to the hole briefly to lay his putter on the grass to suggest it should have been conceded.

You giving this one to the @IntlTeam? pic.twitter.com/wmhZA5e9iD

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 28, 2024

Clearly irked by the incident, Kim walked away shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.

The Korean pair made a fight of it – including an incredible hole-out to win the 16th hole and tie the match with two to play – but in the end Cantlay rolled home a birdie putt in near darkness on 18 to claim the victory by the slenderest of margins.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!

Si Woo Kim chips in from an impossible lie to win the hole! pic.twitter.com/8fxKNig54a

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 28, 2024

As the players from the final match shook hands, Wyndham Clark was caught on camera throwing the International pair’s celebrations back at them.

“Nighty night, boys,” he taunted. “Nighty night.”

This is the best 60 seconds in Presidents Cup history and it’s not even close

pic.twitter.com/4Hz1QC3UVu

— Alex Perry (@byAlexPerry) September 29, 2024

In his post-round press conference, Kim said “it got a little feisty out there”.

He added: “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. You see me out there throwing fist pumps and jumping on the green. It’s all part of it, I get it. 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.

“The US team definitely motivated us. We took Keegan and Wyndham down pretty good in the morning, and we fought really hard at the end. It was really obvious.

“I did not have my best in the afternoon. My partner saved me a lot today. It’s frustrating because I really feel I could have done a lot more. Hopefully we’ll have opportunities to have better finishes from time to time.”

Jim Furyk’s side will take a commanding 11-7 lead into Sunday’s singles. They need just four points to retain the trophy, or four-and-a-half to make it ten Presidents Cup victories in a row.

We’ll be discussing the Presidents Cup in the next episode of The bunkered Podcast – so make sure you’re subscribed!

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor