Tom Kim details the intensity of playing against his 'buddy' Scottie Scheffler at the Presidents Cup
PGA Tour friends Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim showed the intensity on day one of the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal. After Kim birdied the seventh hole, he had a loud celebration with his partner. In reply, Scheffler answered with another birdie and yelled showing similar emotion.
After the Thursday fourballs, Tom Kim joined an interview where he was asked about his amplified intensity at the Presidents Cup. In response, he defended his intense reaction, stating that it was a result of his love for the team and not because he was playing against World No. 1.
“You know, I'm obviously getting a lot of these questions, but really it doesn't matter who it is, whether Scottie or whoever it is on that team. My emotions and my love towards this team doesn't change. I'm fighting for not only myself -- it may look like I'm just a kid throwing fist pumps, but it's not, it's me throwing fist pumps for my team. I want my 11 other brothers on this team to know that I'm fighting really hard and I know that they're feeling the same way. I'm trying to bring energy to the team,” Kim said, through ASAP Sports.
“Obviously it looks like on TV there's a little bit of banter, but in all groups there are. This is how it works. I'm sure Ryder Cup is the same way and Presidents Cup, as well, it's just you're playing for more than yourself and you're bringing that energy,” he added.
Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley won the day one fourball with 3 & 2 against Tom Kim and Sungjae Im. The US team won all five matches on the first day.
Tom Kim expressed his eagerness to beat Scottie Scheffler at the Presidents Cup
Tom Kim talked about the back-and-forth competition he and Scottie Scheffler gave to each other on the first day and that he wanted to beat the American.
“It's all fun. I made it on top of him, and he gave it to me, and I gave it to him back on the next hole. I don't shy away from him. He's a good friend. But at the same time, this week I don't like him. I want to beat him so bad…Those boys played great today, but definitely for our team it kind of felt like I played great, so being short kind of sucks,” Kim said.
Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee of the international team won't play the Friday foursomes of the Presidents Cup. Along with them, Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley of the US team will sit out for the second round.
The Friday match will start with Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffle (USA) teeing off at 1:05 pm against Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im (International).