Wyndham Clark and Si Woo Kim confronted off in Saturday foursomes on the Presidents Cup.
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We heard Tom Kim’s aspect of the story.
He got here off the course scorching on Saturday night time on the Presidents Cup. He and accomplice Si Woo Kim had simply misplaced a pivotal, electrical foursomes match when Patrick Cantlay (paired with Xander Schauffele) holed an 18-foot birdie putt within the fading gentle at Royal Montreal Golf Membership. Minutes later, Kim leaned into the mic at a press convention and stated he thought a few of their American opponents had crossed the road.
“It received just a little feisty on the market. I may hear some gamers cursing at us,” Kim stated. “That half wasn’t actually — I don’t assume there was good sportsmanship there. But it surely’s all a part of the enjoyable. I perceive it.”
Their match — and Kim’s feedback — added some juice to Sunday’s singles matches. Kim later clarified that he wasn’t speaking about Cantlay or Schauffele (who insisted they’d no concept what he was speaking about) and regretted that it induced any type of stir, however the stir was already on.
Then got here a tweet from Kim’s teammate Ben An, who referred to as out U.S. participant Wyndham Clark (I do know, we’re introducing quite a lot of characters, persist with me right here) for celebrating significantly aggressively from the sidelines when Cantlay’s putt went in.
“You all the time have a man in your group who doesn’t do s— however discuss s— all day,” An wrote in a tweet he later deleted. Clark fired again in a remark, calling out An for being benched all Saturday: “Then there’s the man who didn’t also have a tee time…”
We heard Tom Kim’s caddie’s aspect of the story, too. Veteran looper Paul Tesori joined SiriusXM’s PGA Tour Radio earlier this week to again up what his boss had stated in regards to the U.S. staff crossing the road, simply with one critique: He didn’t must say so within the media.
“Clearly, I witnessed three eventualities the place members of the U.S. staff emphatically received private with Tom and sure, cursed at him and received very private,” Tesori stated. “And on the finish of the day, nobody needs that. These two guys that had performed it, I don’t assume that’s of their character in any respect. I do know certainly one of them apologized, which is a superb factor. The warmth of the second received to him.
“However I do wish to say one thing about that. When Tom talked about that within the Saturday press convention, I didn’t know he had [said so]. And when he got here in, he shared with me what he did, and that is a part of what a 52-year-old veteran can share with a 22-year-old.
“I stated, ‘Tom, you may have each proper to really feel the way in which you probably did.’ Certainly one of them, I witnessed a foot away from me. And the emotions I had inside had been very New York Bethpagey. I needed to react bodily, and I used to be upset by what had occurred, however on the finish of the day, I additionally know the character of the individual this occurred with I don’t imagine is that means, and Tom dealt with it very well.
“On the finish of the day, he can’t go to the media and pronounce that,” Tesori concluded. “You bought to go discuss to your captains about it, go discuss to your teammates about it, and it’s a studying expertise for Tom. And I feel that’s what it comes right down to.”
So who had been these “two guys” Tesori was referring to? Wyndham Clark shed some gentle on the matter when he joined “The Loop” podcast this week — and supplied his aspect of the story, too. (You possibly can hearken to the entire pod right here.)
“Earlier that morning [Keegan Bradley] and I performed Tom and Si Woo,” Clark informed Loop host Chris Powers. “And we witnessed them making tons of putts on us and enjoying unbelievable after which clearly witnessed all the celebrations that they had been doing. After which simply a few of the different antics that perhaps folks weren’t seeing on TV, that clearly simply form of will get you to the place you’re just a little pissed off as a result of a few of it was excessive, for my part.
“And a few of it appeared just a little fabricated and so it nearly didn’t appear genuine, particularly for somebody that’s normally fairly quiet, and so it nearly appeared like they had been attempting to do one thing. So we may really feel that. And so [Keegan] and I misplaced, they beat us truthful and sq.. They performed unbelievable.”
After their 4-and-3 defeat, the story picked up, Clark stated, when he and Tony Finau began following Kim/Kim vs. Cantlay/Schauffele that afternoon.
“So we began seeing a few of the greatest golf I’ve ever seen in a match, at any cup,” he stated. “I imply, they had been simply birdie after birdie. Each different gap. It was fairly superb and I imply, so far as the cussing that was occurring or any of the trash-talking, I really feel like on our staff, we had been doing it solely in direction of our guys.
“Guys had been saying, y’know, LFG [ed. note: I’ll let you translate] for our staff and I feel that’s the place the cussing was. Now, there have been occasions once we had been near their staff and even their gamers the place we had been screaming for our guys. However you additionally gotta understand we’re the away staff, so we don’t have as a lot noise, we’re attempting to create further noise. So perhaps we had been heard greater than if we had been the house staff as a result of the group, you understand, out, you understand, does hear us.
“However actually when it comes right down to Si Woo’s deal, I imply, Si Woo’s [chip-in] on 16 is without doubt one of the greatest photographs I’ve ever witnessed up shut and Si Woo is a canine. He’s actually certainly one of my favourite guys on the PGA Tour and has a lot expertise and you understand, that shot was simply unbelievable.
“And that week you might simply put a spotlight reel of his, like, prime 10 of each shot. I felt like, however you understand that shot after which his celebration, like I get, he loves Steph Curry. He additionally, if he actually does love Steph Curry, Steph even Steph tweeted this, you solely try this when the sport’s over or when you understand it’s performed. So he did that proper in entrance of Tony Finau and I, and we checked out one another. We’re like, it’s a good ball recreation. I don’t perceive why you’ll try this.
“After which we go to 18, clearly, and we each had been sitting there and we’re like, ‘Man, if we win this gap, we’re for positive giving them — we’re placing it proper again of their face.’ And so positive sufficient, I imply, Patty Ice made, made it and, you understand, I feel folks received me as a result of I form of was just a little extra, however I’m fairly positive Tony and I each did it and I feel it was nice.
“I imply, you understand, what, for those who’re gonna discuss trash and do issues like that, you then received to have the ability to deal with it coming proper again at you. So, yeah, I imply, it was actually enjoyable.”
Clark concluded that, in comparison with his U.S. staff look a 12 months earlier, this was a way more pleasant aspect to be on.
“It was enjoyable for me to root for these guys that afternoon as a result of within the [2023] Ryder Cup, after I was rooting for guys, we had been getting smoked,” he stated. “And so it was good to get a win like that. It was actually cool.”
So the place does this depart us? There’s loads of overlap between the three tales; it’s clear the match was tense and the U.S. staff was vocal from the sidelines and that every aspect thinks the opposite was doing just a little a lot. Whether or not they crossed a line depends upon what they stated, in whose route they stated it and the place you assume the road is. However all collectively it’s a reminder of the stress (and pettiness) of staff match play. And the truth that we’re nonetheless speaking in regards to the Presidents Cup two weeks later is nice information for an occasion that’s all the time hungry for consideration.
Subsequent 12 months’s Ryder Cup can’t come quickly sufficient.
