[PHOTO: Vaughn Ridley]
We’ve not even completed the first day of the Presidents Cup and there’s already some bad blood between the US and International teams. The most shocking part? It appears to be between best mates Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim.
It started with what seemed like some innocent sledging, Kim making a long birdie putt at the par-3 seventh hole and celebrating accordingly. Then Scheffler answered and shouted “WHAT WAS THAT?!” in Kim’s direction. Kim laughed it off, but Scheffler certainly didn’t look like he was messing around.
On the next green, Kim and partner Sungjae Im holed a birdie putt first. Then the International duo walked off the green and made their way to the ninth tee. The problem? Scheffler still had a birdie putt to tie the hole and keep he and Russell Henley’s 2-up lead. During a normal tour event, finishing up and walking to the next tee while a playing partner still needs to finish is a perfectly fine way to keep the pace of play moving. During a matchplay, team event where your opponent still has a putt to tie? That’s a no-no.
On-course commentator John Wood immediately pointed out Kim and Im’s walk-off, saying, “It’s definitely a little bit chippy in this group right now.” Analyst Paul McGinley then asked Wood, “So they are not able to see [Scheffler] putting?”
“They are 60 yards away on the ninth tee and they are not watching,” Wood replied.
NBC play-by-play man Dan Hicks smartly teed up McGinley immediately after, asking, “What do you think of that Paul?” And McGinley did not hold back.
Kim and Im leaving for the next tee is bush league! Glad McGinley called it out pic.twitter.com/aNq8hY7fUn
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) September 26, 2024
“That’s bordering on bad behaviour there,” McGinley said. “That’s disrespectful, in my opinion. I know it’s competitive out there, but it certainly shows you there’s an underlying edge here that it’s not all funs and games.”
Scheffler went on to miss the putt, earning Kim and Im a much-needed win to cut their deficit to 1 down. They halved the ninth, then Scheffler drained a 25-footer for birdie at the 10th, leading to a muted reaction. Kim followed by holing his 20-footer for birdie to halve. Through 10 holes, Scheffler and Henley still led, 1 up, before closing out the match 3&2.
