Tom Kim called out his USA rivals who apparently swore at him as he was defeated by Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele alongside his International team-mate Si Woo Kim in the foursomes at the Presidents Cup on Saturday. USA won both Saturday sessions 3-1 in Canada to establish a lead of 11-7 ahead of the final day.
Kim appeared to grow frustrated in the early stages of the showdown after USA refused to concede a short putt on the par-three seventh hole.
The 22-year-old sunk the putt from a few feet away before laying his putter down and using it as a measuring stick to illustrate just how close he had been to the hole in the first place.
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Cantlay eventually produced a magnificent shot on the final hole at Royal Montreal to clinch the points for his side, which triggered wild celebrations.
And Kim later explained: “I could hear some players cursing at us. That part wasn't really... I don't think there was good sportsmanship there. But it's all part of the fun. I understand it.”
Kim was then asked by a reporter whether he was angry because of “sportsmanship issues”. And the South Korean star replied: “No, absolutely not. I do it too. 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.”
He added: “I understand it. I don't get hurt about it. My feelings don't hurt at all. I hope there's no negative comments. That's not what I'm trying to do here. I just feel like there's always little things, like what could I have done better? It's just certain things like that.
“I put my partner in some tough positions, and that to me is the most frustrating part of the day. He and I talked about when we got down early let's just push it to 18. Obviously we did, and they had to play good to beat us, so claps to them.”
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Kim has already made the headlines in Canada after clashing with Scottie Scheffler on the opening day, with the two players exchanging verbal taunts.
Kim rolled in a birdie putt early on and screamed: “Let’s go”, which appeared to annoy his opponent as the American returned the favour after halving the hole by shouting: “What was that?”
The International player then celebrated a birdie on the eighth, before walking over to the ninth tee box while Scheffler was still putting. And Paul McGinley in the Sky Sports studio exclaimed: “That's bordering on bad behaviour there. That's disrespectful in my opinion.”
