Team USA enjoyed a comfortable victory over the Internationals at last month’s Presidents Cup, but there were some feisty moments along the way.
One came when US star Scottie Scheffler fired back at close friend Tom Kim during their four ball matchup on the Thursday morning.
Then, on Saturday, things got even spicier. After Si Woo and Tom Kim beat Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark in their Saturday morning four ball, the two South Koreans teamed up again for the afternoon foursomes, this time against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
On the 16th, and needing something special to tie the match, Si Woo produced an amazing chip-in from a brutal uphill green side lie and mimicked NBA star Steph Curry’s famous “night night celebration.”
That didn’t go down well with their opponents, who eventually won the match after Cantlay’s decisive putt on the 18th, which led to Clark mocking Kim’s celebration.
Afterwards, Tom Kim claimed that he heard someone from the US squad "cursing at us" during that Saturday session at Royal Montreal - a claim that was refuted by the Americans.
Now the dust has settled on the flashpoints, Clark has given his side of events on Golf Digest's The Loop podcast, where he defended his team’s behavior.
He told host Chris Powers that there had first been frustration in his and Keegan Bradley's defeat to Tom and Si Woo in their Saturday morning four ball match. He said: “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.”
Clark was rested for the afternoon session, so he took in the match involving Si Woo and Tom Kim, Schauffele and Cantlay. However, he stressed that any cursing from the Americans was directed at each other rather than their opponents. He continued: “So we started seeing some of the best golf I’ve ever seen in a match, at any cup.
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/5beeNtQHKsOctober 9, 2024
“I mean, they were just birdie after birdie. 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 then explained why he mocked Si Woo’s celebration after the US pair closed out the victory.
“He did that right in front of Tony Finau and I," said Clark. "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'."
Another witness to the events on Saturday was Tom Kim’s caddie Paul Tesori, who backed up his man, saying: “I witnessed three scenarios where members of the US team emphatically got personal with Tom and yes, cursed at him and got very personal. And at the end of the day, no one wants that."
He added: "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."
The Americans eventually retained the cup with an 18.5 to 11.5 win and afterwards, Tom Kim explained to reporters he had apologized to Schauffele and US captain Jim Furyk over his comments on Saturday. He said: "I just told him like, 'hey, I didn't mean it to go in such a negative way. If it did, I just said I'm sorry.'
"It was just I felt like what I heard yesterday, some comments that I've heard was at that time, just coming off the green, it came to me so personally and just I felt like it was right to share."
