‘Disrespectful’ – Scottie Scheffler issues three-word jibe to Tom Kim in heated Presidents Cup incident
Scottie Scheffler made his feelings clear as he clapped back at Tom Kim in a heated Presidents Cup exchange.
The world number one was competing in a four-ball alongside Russell Henley when he reached the green on the seventh.
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First up was Kim who managed to sink an incredible birdie putt from 35 feet before celebrating with the home fans.
The South Korean bounced around the green shouting ‘come on’ before slapping hands with his playing partner, Sungjae Im.
Scheffler, known to be close friends with Kim, clearly wasn’t impressed with his antics though.
The American was lining up a 30-foot putt of his own to tie the hole and was clearly distracted by Kim’s wild celebrations.
Once the South Korean had calmed, Scheffler stepped up and buried his birdie putt in style, leading to his outburst.
He turned immediately over to Kim and shouted out: ‘WHAT WAS THAT?!’ as he celebrated a big putt.
Scheffler then proceeded to high-five Henley, as Kim walked away seeing the funny side with a smile on his face.
That putt from Scheffler ensured that he and Henley remained two-up in the match.
On the next hole, Kim pulled off another 30-foot putt for birdie, leading to another big celebration as he shouted “come on!”
Scheffler then picked Kim’s ball out and handed it to him, barely looking at him in the process.
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While Scheffler was lining up his birdie putt, Kim and Im walked straight over to the ninth tee, a move that was instigated by international assistant Camilo Villegas.
Such an action is strongly against golf etiquette, something that meant that tempers flared even more.
Discussing the incident, commentator Paul McGinley – Team Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup-winning captain – said: “Wow, that is bordering on bad behaviour, that is disrespectful in my opinion.
“I know it’s competitive out there, but it shows you an underlying edge here that it’s not all fun and games.”
While it wasn’t evident here, Scheffler and Kim are actually very good friends, but through the lens of competition, any goodwill clearly goes out the window.
