Tom Kim’s sportsmanship complaint? This analyst isn’t sympathetic

Tom Kim was a breakout star at the 2022 Presidents Cup, and his legend continues to grow this week at Royal Montreal.

Even with a 1-2-0 record thus far, Kim has established himself as the team’s emotional leader, with exuberant celebrations — and a touch of gamesmanship — that served to pump up the home crowd and rankle his American opponents.

But after enduring a deflating 18th-hole defeat to Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in Saturday afternoon foursomes while paired alongside teammate Si Woo Kim, Kim alleged unsportsmanlike behavior from the American side.

“I think the start of the round was definitely a little harder [to stay energized], but as it got towards the end, it got a little feisty out there,” Kim said. “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. So the U.S. team definitely motivated us to go out there.”

Which American player — or players — crossed the line with Kim on Saturday? He didn’t name names, but on Saturday night’s edition of “Live From the Presidents Cup” on Golf Channel, reporter Rex Hoggard confirmed that he witnessed some U.S. chirping directed at Kim.

“I really think this incident he’s talking about occurred on the 11th hole,” Hoggard said. “If you remember that hole — it was a bit of a reversal. It looked as if the International team was in trouble off the tee. They ended up scrambling, making a really good par, they celebrated, as they did most of the afternoon, Patrick Cantlay poured in a par putt right behind him. They celebrated as well.

“As Tom Kim was walking off the green, some of the members of the team, the U.S. team, the contingent that was following inside the ropes, were yelling, were very loud, were very vocal. I think that’s where this incident [came from].”

Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis asked Hoggard for more specifics.

“Were they being loud and vocal in general, or were they loud and vocal towards Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim?” Lewis said.

“It was directed towards Tom Kim,” Hoggard said. “I didn’t see anything directed towards Si Woo Kim.”

In his post-round interview, Kim insisted that he was not objecting to the charged atmosphere of the event, only to the cursing.

“You see me out there throwing fist pumps and jumping on the green,” he said. “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.

“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.”

But as Golf Channel’s “Live From” crew absorbed Kim’s comments and Hoggard’s context on Saturday evening, analyst Johnson Wagner took issue with Kim’s decision to air his grievances about the incident publicly.

“So Tom Kim, he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it — why’d you bring it up in the press conference?” Wagner said. “It became a big deal. And let’s go back to Thursday, when he made that putt on the 8th hole and went and walked off and stood on the 9th. He was trying to get under the skin of Scottie Scheffler then. Can you give it but not take it?

“And also, Thursday after the round, he was bashing their own fans here,” Wagner continued. “So I think, we talked about having a Poulter influence or a Patrick Reed influence. Tom Kim has certainly set himself up that way, now that you’re there, you gotta be able to deal with it, handle the stuff that comes with it.”

The International team has a tough hill to climb on Sunday, trailing the U.S. by a score of 11-7. Tom Kim will face Sam Burns in the second singles match of the day, beginning at 12:14 p.m. ET. You can find out everything you need to know about how to watch the action here.

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.