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We’ve heard Tom Kim’s take on the Presidents Cup controversy that has now been named “Cussgate”.
Kim, the firebrand of the International team, claimed after Saturday’s afternoon foursomes defeat to Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele at Royal Montreal that he heard a member of the US side “cursing at us.”
Now it’s time for Wyndham Clark to chime in.
The 2023 US Open champion has never been one to shirk an opinion, so was never going to bite his tongue on the accusations against his USA teammates.
In the feisty match, Kim’s partner Si Woo produced a stunning chip-in from a severe upslope on the 16th and ran out mimicking basketball superstar Steph Curry’s “night night” celebration.
When the Korean duo eventually lost their match after Cantlay stole the show on 18, Clark took the opportunity to mock Kim’s celebration.
Clark has now given his own full recount of the events on Golf Digest’s The Loop podcast. He says the flashpoints were sparked by his fourball match earlier on in the day.
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“Earlier that morning [Keegan Bradley] and I played Tom and Si Woo,” Clark began. “And we witnessed them making tons of putts on us and playing unbelievable and then obviously witnessed all of the celebrations that they were doing. And then just some of the other antics that maybe people weren’t seeing on TV, that obviously just kind of gets you to where you’re a little frustrated because some of it was extreme, in my opinion.
“Some of it seemed a little fabricated and so it almost didn’t seem authentic, especially for someone that’s usually pretty quiet, and so it almost seemed like they were trying to do something. So we could feel that. And so [Keegan] and I lost, they beat us fair and square. They played unbelievable.”
Having being rested for the afternoon match, Clark went out to watch the box-office afternoon match-up. He strongly refutes his teammates were making any deliberate digs towards the International side.
We’ve heard from both Tom Kim and his caddie Paul Tesori on CussGate at the Presidents Cup. This week, we got to ask Wyndham Clark, who many believed was at the forefront of it all, what his perspective was on the whole situation.
Here’s his (lengthy) answer: pic.twitter.com/5beeNtQHKs
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) October 9, 2024
“I mean, they were just birdie after birdie,” he said. “Every other hole. It was quite amazing and I mean, as far as the cussing that was going on or any of the trash-talking, I feel like on our team, we were doing it only towards our guys. So guys were saying, y’know, “LFG” for our team and I think that’s where the cussing was.”
Clark certainly won’t apologise for mocking Si Woo’s celebration, either.
He continued: “He did that right in front of Tony Finau and I, And we looked at each other. We’re like, ‘it’s a tight ball game. I don’t understand why you would do that?’ And then we go to 18, obviously, and we both were sitting there and we’re like, ‘Man, if we win this hole, we’re for sure giving them – we’re putting it right back in their face’.”
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Clark’s observations are clearly at odds with Tom Kim’s caddie, Paul Tesori, another eye witness at the scene. Speaking on PGA Tour Sirius XM Radio, Tesori backed his man by claiming some of the US players reacted in a way he would be “embarrassed” by.
“I witnessed three scenarios where members of the US team emphatically got personal with Tom and yes, cursed at him and got very personal,” the caddie said. “And at the end of the day, no one wants that.
“These two guys that had done it, I don’t think that’s in their character at all. I know one of them apologized, which is a great thing. The heat of the moment got to him.”
Let’s just say the jury is out on this one.
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