Win or lose, Tom Kim definitely wanted to clear the air.
During a press conference Saturday night at the Royal Montreal, Kim criticized some members of the U.S. Presidents Cup team and criticized opponents for what he described as a lack of sportsmanship.
“I could hear some players cursing at us,” Kim said in the press room, declining to give his name.
The next day, after a hard-earned tie with Sam Burns in singles and another lopsided loss in international competition, Kim faced off against US captain Jim Furyk and one of his Saturday afternoon opponents, Xander. – He asked Schauffele for an explanation and apologized for the controversy. Maybe he made it.
Regarding the comments made by reporters, Kim said, “I did not intend to go in such a negative direction.” “If that’s the case, I just said I’m sorry. What I heard yesterday and some of the comments I heard then just hit me like a bolt out of the blue and it hit me very personally, so I’m sharing it. It felt like the right thing to do. Of course, I didn’t think so at the time, but I didn’t expect it to be this negative…When I played with Patrick and Xander, obviously we. We fought a few times and they were always great competitors. We always felt there was great sportsmanship between us. It was off the ropes and that was it on my side. I felt like it was a bit of a misunderstanding, I should have explained it better.
“So I went to him and said I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry if I came out wrong. This is all that happened, but if I had a negative impact on you, I’m really sorry. No, I didn’t mean that.”
Schauffele and Cantlay won Sunday’s games, each finishing with a 4-1 performance.
“He just exchanged a few words with Cap and I,” Schauffele said of his exchange with Kim after the game. “To be honest, it was a private matter. If you want to ask him what was said, it’s his responsibility because he’s the one who consulted us, but it’s his responsibility to ask me or anyone else here. I don’t think it’s my responsibility to clarify what he said.”
Kim finished the week with a 2-2 record and was noticeably less aggressive in his match against Burns, but he did give a few big fist pumps after sinking a 15-foot birdie on the 15th to erase Birdie’s lead. I showed you.
