The line between showmanship and bad sportsmanship was blurred a little more on the third day of the Presidents Cup.
Si Woo Kim ran onto the 16th green after he drained a chip in from the deep rough, cradling his head on folded hands, emulating the go-to-sleep celebration of Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry, as he celebrated he and fellow South Korean Tom Kim tying their match with Americans Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
Two holes later, Cantlay drained a birdie putt to help the United States build an 11-7 lead over the International team in a long day at the Presidents Cup. Tom Kim — no stranger to exuberant celebrations — said a line was crossed by his American opponents during the match.
“Towards the end, it got a little feisty out there,” said Tom Kim. “I could hear some players cursing at us. I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there.
“But it’s all part of the fun. I understand it.”
Cantlay’s nearly 17-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole at Royal Montreal Golf Club gave the U.S. back-to-back 3-1 rounds on Saturday and a four-point lead on the overall scoreboard.
The elite biennial tournament sees 12 Americans face 12 golfers from around the world, excluding Europe. The final round will have all 24 golfers playing individual matches.
Each match is worth a point and a score of 15 1/2 is needed to win the tournament. The Internationals have lost nine Presidents Cups in a row.
Whipping the fans at Royal Montreal into a frenzy has been one of the strategies employed by the Internationals as they try to end their losing skid and overcome a stacked American roster that features five of the top 10 players in the world.
Tom Kim has been the International team’s conductor on the course, playing to the fans the most of any of the tournament’s golfers. Still, he maintained a line was crossed Saturday.
“I do it, too. You see me out there throwing fist pumps and jumping on the green. It’s all part of it, I get it,” he said. “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.”
Schauffele and Cantlay said they didn’t swear at their opponents and didn’t hear any of their American teammates — trailing behind the group in golf carts — curse either.
“I felt like Pat and I, we treated the Kims with the utmost respect,” said Schauffele, adding that he and Cantlay both tried to quiet the crowd whenever they or their opponents were about to swing.
“I have no clue if anyone was doing any of that. I don’t believe any of our guys would do something like that. So I’m not sure what he was hearing.”
A fog delay that lasted nearly 100 minutes early in the morning session backed up the entire day’s proceedings. Players were on the course for more than 12 hours.
Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Australia’s Adam Scott were starting their second match of the day with Max Homa and Brian Harman as Cantlay and Sam Burns were on No. 17, finishing a 2&1 victory over Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea’s Sungjae Im from the first wave.
The other afternoon matches were delayed 30 minutes to allow the golfers time to refresh after playing all morning.
Pendrith and Scott traded holes with Harman and Homa to emerge with a 2-Up win for the Internationals’ only point of the afternoon’s fourth round.
“It was a quick turnaround, but we all knew that we were potentially going to play 36 today,” said Pendrith. “It was a long day out there. I’m pretty tired, yeah.
“I was happy to put a point on the board this afternoon for the International Team, but it’s been a long day.”
Collin Morikawa and Burns eked out a 1-Up win over the all-Canadian duo of Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., in the afternoon. That match was tied after 17 holes, with Conners and Hughes combining for a bogey on the final hole.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley won their final three holes for a 3&2 victory over Matsuyama and Im.
The score was tied 5-5 at the start of play Saturday and the U.S. recaptured the lead after a 3-1 third round of four-ball play in the morning.
Scheffler and Morikawa earned a 2&1 win over Scott and Pendrith, then Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim picked up the lone point for the Internationals in the morning session with a 4&3 victory over Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark.
Tony Finau and Schauffele then dispatched Conners and Hughes 3&2. Cantlay and Burns earned the Americans’ third point of the day with their win over Matsuyama and Im.
