Montreal (AFP) – South Korea’s Tom Kim, an emotional spark for the Internationals against the United States at the Presidents Cup, said he and partner Kim Si-woo were cursed at by rivals on Saturday. The South Korean duo was edged 1-up by Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele at Royal Montreal as the US team seized an 11-7 edge entering Sunday’s 12 final singles matches.
Both Kims holed long shots to win holes in what became an emotional duel, Kim Si-woo making a Stephen Curry NBA “goodnight” gesture after sinking a 40-foot chip from greenside rough to win the 16th hole. “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.”
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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.
Not scared, Sam Burns, who partnered with Collin Morikawa on a 1-up win over Canada’s Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, said he was giving back jibes to hecklers. “If they’re going to come at me, why shouldn’t I go at them? That seems fair to me,” Burns said. “If people are going to shout out behind ropes or whatever and say whatever they want, just because I’m inside of them doesn’t mean I can’t yell back. You’ve got to let them know you’re not scared of what they say and you’re not afraid of a couple laughs with their buddies.”
Sunday’s singles pairings were made after the session, with Schauffele set to face Australian Jason Day in the first match. Tom Kim will face Burns in match two followed by top-ranked Scottie Scheffler against Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, South Korean Im Sung-jae against Russell Henley, Canada’s Taylor Pendrith against Cantlay, and Kim Si-woo against Keegan Bradley. The last six singles matches send Canada’s Corey Conners against Tony Finau, Aussie Min Woo Lee against Wyndham Clark, South Korean Ben An against Sahith Theegala, Aussie Adam Scott against Collin Morikawa, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout against Brian Harman, and Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes against Max Homa.
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