A rather sluggish start to the Presidents Cup was injected with emotion on the seventh hole in the match containing good friends Tom Kim and Scottie Scheffler.
Kim and partner Sungjae Im were 2 down on the par 3 when Kim rolled in a birdie putt from 27 feet, 7 inches.
Kim, much like he did in his 2022 Presidents Cup debut — though, minus the emphatic putter drop — clenched his fists and yelled, “C’mon! Let’s go!”
Moments later, Scheffler, from a half-foot closer, made birdie on a similar line, looked in the direction of his opponents, and yelled, “What was that?!”
Scheffler’s response — the birdie, not the reaction — kept him and Russell Henley 2 up.
On the next hole, the par-4 eighth, Kim made a 24-foot birdie putt and the reaction felt a little more personal. Again he fist-pumped and “C’mon!”-d, but did so in close proximity to Scheffler, who had his back to Kim and blindly handed him his ball from the cup.
After Henley missed a putt to tie the hole, Scheffler had 12 feet to match. Kim and Im, however, walked off the hole and moved to the ninth tee box. Scheffler missed and the Americans’ lead was cut to 1 up.
NBC Sports on-course reporter John Wood said that International vice captain Camilo Villegas appeared to wave Kim and Im to the ninth tee. Wood also reported that Villegas and U.S. vice captain Kevin Kisner had words after the eighth hole played out and, according to Wood, “I’m not sure what was said but it didn’t look all that friendly.”
Tom Kim calls out ‘too quiet’ Canadian fans after Presidents Cup sweep
Kim added that he felt like he played great, though International captain Mike Weir decided to sit him for Friday foursomes.
Scheffler and Kim both live in the Dallas area. They share the same birthday and battled earlier this year in a playoff at the Travelers Championship (won by Scheffler).