Tom Kim’s sportsmanship complaint? This analyst is not kind

Tom Kim was an early 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 abundant celebrations – and a touch of games – this served to galvanize the home crowd and beat his American opponents.

But after suffering a crushing loss on the 18th hole to Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the foursome on Saturday afternoon, while paired alongside teammate Si Woo Kim, Kim alleged unsportsmanlike conduct from the American side.

“I think the beginning of the round was definitely a little harder (to stay energized), but as it got closer to the end, it got a little rough there,” Kim said. “I could hear some players swearing at us. That part wasn’t really – I don’t think there was any good sportsmanship there. But it’s all part of the fun. I understand that. So the American 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 Golf Channel’s “Live From the Presidents Cup,” reporter Rex Hoggard confirmed that he witnessed several American tweets directed at Kim.

“I really think this incident that he’s talking about happened on the 11th hole,” Hoggard said. “If you remember that hole — it was a bit of a change. It looked like the international team was in trouble off the tee. They ended up hitting it, making a really good par. They celebrated, too.

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

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

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

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

In his post-round interview, Kim insisted he wasn’t objecting to the event’s charged atmosphere, just the swearing.

“You see me out there doing fist pumps and jumping on the green,” he said. “It’s all part of it, I understand. I just don’t think there’s any need to look at someone and insult them. I just don’t think there is a need for it.

“I understand. I’m not hurt about it. My feelings are not hurt at all. I hope there are no negative comments. That’s not what I’m trying to do here.”

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

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

“And also, the Thursday after the round, he was attacking their 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 have to be able to deal with it, deal with the things that come with it.”

The international team has a tough hill to climb on Sunday, trailing the USA 11-7. Tom Kim will face Sam Burns in the second singles match of the day, starting at 12:14 pm ET. You can learn everything you need to know about how to watch the action here.

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