Wyndham Clark and Si Woo Kim confronted off in Saturday foursomes on the Presidents Cup.
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We heard Tom Kim’s facet of the story.
He got here off the course sizzling 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 obtained a bit of feisty on the market. I might hear some gamers cursing at us,” Kim stated. “That half wasn’t actually — I don’t suppose 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 that they had no thought what he was speaking about) and regretted that it triggered 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 a whole lot of characters, persist with me right here) for celebrating significantly aggressively from the sidelines when Cantlay’s putt went in.
“You at all times 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 facet 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 concerning the U.S. workforce crossing the road, simply with one critique: He didn’t must say so within the media.
“Clearly, I witnessed three situations the place members of the U.S. workforce emphatically obtained private with Tom and sure, cursed at him and obtained very private,” Tesori stated. “And on the finish of the day, nobody needs that. These two guys that had carried out it, I don’t suppose that’s of their character in any respect. I do know one among them apologized, which is a good factor. The warmth of the second obtained to him.
“However I do need 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’ve got each proper to really feel the way in which you probably did.’ One among them, I witnessed a foot away from me. And the emotions I had inside have 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 particular person this occurred with I don’t imagine is that manner, and Tom dealt with it rather 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 believe that’s what it comes all the way down to.”
So who have 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 facet 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 advised Loop host Chris Powers. “And we witnessed them making tons of putts on us and taking part in unbelievable after which clearly witnessed the entire celebrations that they have been doing. After which simply a number of the different antics that perhaps individuals weren’t seeing on TV, that clearly simply type of will get you to the place you’re a bit of annoyed as a result of a few of it was excessive, for my part.
“And a few of it appeared a bit of fabricated and so it virtually didn’t appear genuine, particularly for somebody that’s often fairly quiet, and so it virtually appeared like they have been attempting to do one thing. So we might really feel that. And so [Keegan] and I misplaced, they beat us honest 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 number of the finest golf I’ve ever seen in a match, at any cup,” he stated. “I imply, they have been simply birdie after birdie. Each different gap. It was fairly wonderful and I imply, so far as the cussing that was occurring or any of the trash-talking, I really feel like on our workforce, we have been doing it solely in direction of our guys.
“Guys have been saying, y’know, LFG [ed. note: I’ll let you translate] for our workforce and I believe that’s the place the cussing was. Now, there have been occasions once we have been near their workforce and even their gamers the place we have been screaming for our guys. However you additionally gotta understand we’re the away workforce, so we don’t have as a lot noise, we’re attempting to create further noise. So perhaps we have been heard greater than if we have been the house workforce as a result of the gang, you realize, out, you realize, does hear us.
“However actually when it comes all the way down to Si Woo’s deal, I imply, Si Woo’s [chip-in] on 16 is without doubt one of the finest photographs I’ve ever witnessed up shut and Si Woo is a canine. He’s actually one among my favourite guys on the PGA Tour and has a lot expertise and you realize, that shot was simply unbelievable.
“And that week you would simply put a spotlight reel of his, like, high 10 of each shot. I felt like, however you realize 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 do this when the sport’s over or when you realize it’s carried out. 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 sport. I don’t perceive why you’ll do this.
“After which we go to 18, clearly, and we each have 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 realize, I believe individuals obtained me as a result of I type of was a bit of extra, however I’m fairly positive Tony and I each did it and I believe it was nice.
“I imply, you realize, what, in the event you’re gonna discuss trash and do issues like that, then you definately obtained 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. workforce look a 12 months earlier, this was a way more pleasant facet 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 have 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 go away us? There’s loads of overlap between the three tales; it’s clear the match was tense and the U.S. workforce was vocal from the sidelines and that every facet thinks the opposite was doing a bit of a lot. Whether or not they crossed a line depends upon what they stated, in whose route they stated it and the place you suppose the road is. However all collectively it’s a reminder of the strain (and pettiness) of workforce match play. And the truth that we’re nonetheless speaking concerning the Presidents Cup two weeks later is sweet information for an occasion that’s at all times hungry for consideration.
Subsequent 12 months’s Ryder Cup can’t come quickly sufficient.
