Etiquette breach spices up Presidents Cup match

After the dramatic matching birdies, the group headed to the 8th hole with the Americans holding a 2-up lead. But then on the 8th green, Kim drained another lengthy birdie, this one from 24 feet. Another vocal celebration ensued, and Scheffler even picked up Kim’s ball and handed it to him without looking at him.

Scheffler had a makeable look to answer, but Kim and Im didn’t hang around, leaving Scheffler and Henley on the green and heading straight to the 9th tee without watching Scheffler putt — a breach of customary golf etiquette.

“It’s definitely a little chippy in this group right now,” said NBC on-course reporter John Wood.

“So they are not able to see him putting?” asked analyst Paul McGinley.

“They are 60 yards away on the 9th tee and they’re not watching,” Wood replied.

The broadcast camera then panned to the 9th tee to show Im and Kim standing and waiting with their backs to the green.

“What do you think of that?” asked NBC’s Dan Hicks.

“Well, that’s bordering on bad behavior there,” McGinley said. “That’s disrespectful, in my opinion. I know it’s competitive out there. But that certainly shows you there’s an underlying edge here that’s not all fun and games.”

Scheffler missed the birdie putt, cutting his and Henley’s lead to 1 up.

Still, the Americans would go on to cruise, winning the match 3 and 2.

“That was a bit of fun,” Scheffler told Golf Channel’s Damon Hack afterward of the spiciness between him and Kim. “Same thing I would have done at home if we were playing against one another.”

He added with a smile, “We’re friends after [the match]. We’re not friends during.”

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.