7 hilarious moments from a drunken U.S. Presidents Cup press conference
A drunken Team USA press conference featured no shortage of laughs.
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MONTREAL — By the time Max Homa made his way up to the 17th green in the day’s final match, the Presidents Cup afterparty had already begun.
The contest was over. The U.S. had won. Now, with the players having nothing left to do but celebrate, it was time to drink. The majority of the U.S. side had started that process by the time Homa reached the 17th, passing around tall-boy beers and other, less discernible drinks in aluminum cups.
By the time Homa reappeared again close to an hour later for Team USA’s victory press conference, the afterparty was in full swing.
This, it turns out, is the great tradition of the Sunday evening winner’s press conference at golf’s team events. For the only time all year, golf fans are treated to a glimpse into pro golf’s party life, and usually it’s quite the show.
On Sunday, the revelry was simple. For the first time all week, coolers were wheeled into the press room, with assistant captain Kevin Kisner appointing himself the press conference’s de facto point guard, dishing out ice cold brews as he’d done with water bottles all week. By the time the players sat down, an air of whiskey clarity was wafting through the press room.
What came next were 40 minutes of the most unhinged behavior the PGA Tour has delivered to us in some time, minutes that we will summarize below.
7 funniest moments from Team USA Presidents Cup victory press conference
1. The Bet
In-the-know golf fans will recall that Kevin Kisner and Max Homa made public a bet: If Homa holed out from anywhere, Kisner would have to take off his shirt.
On Sunday morning, Homa made good on his end of the bet on the very first hole of the day, hooping his approach shot from the fairway for a round-opening eagle.
On Sunday evening, just seconds before walking into the interview room, Kisner made good on his payment, tearing off his shirt and running into the center of the U.S. team party shirtless.
“I can’t wait to get back to that team room and run around naked for the rest of the night,” Kisner told NBC. “Go, Team USA.”
2. Max Homa on The Bet
Homa was asked about his own thoughts on the bet, and had a hilarious exchange of his own.
“Max, I was wondering, how long after you hooped that shot did you first think about Kevin paying on his bet?” a reporter asked.
“I mean, like half a second, second and a half. I looked back, and he was scampering down 9 fairway trying to run away from me, I think,” Homa said with a laugh as the rest of his teammates hooted. “He left me a good four minutes before that. I don’t blame him.
“Yeah, it was obviously on my mind the whole week. I basically had three checkmarks this week. One was to win the Presidents Cup with these boys. Two was to have a great time. And three, to get Kis to take his shirt off. So I went three for three.”
3. ‘Say it!!!’
U.S. team captain Jim Furyk found himself in hot water earlier this week when a Golfweek story quoted him telling a reporter, “I’d say, ‘Go f— yourself,'” when asked what he would think of U.S. fans rooting for the Internationals for the competitive integrity of the Presidents Cup.
When that reporter, Adam Schupak, received the microphone again on Sunday evening, Furyk wasn’t the only one whose eyes lit up.
“SAY IT!!!” Schauffele screamed at Furyk, who elected to explain, instead, that there were no hard feelings between the two sides.
“My favorite part of it was when — after the first presser when we came in, we did our pairings, and I walked out, I actually gave you a little fist bump,” Furyk said with a belly laugh. “Two of my assistants told you to go F yourself. That was my favorite.”
4. ‘Go F— Yourself, Adam!’
Furyk’s assistants didn’t let him down on Sunday, either.
After the presser was done, assistant captain Kevin Kisner walked over to Schupak with a mile-wide smile on his face.
“Hey, Adam,” Kisner said. “Go f— yourself one more time buddy.”
The rest of the room burst out in laughter as Kisner and Schupak enjoyed an all-in-good-fun hug.
5. The Golf Glove
In the midst of the chaos — and at the center of the lectern — sat Scottie Scheffler, who arrived curiously wearing a golf glove on his beer-holding hand.
As the presser started, Scheffler handed his glove to Morikawa, who began (not quietly) attempting to sell off the glove to the highest bidder in the crowd.
His audience being a room full of working media, the efforts were unsuccessful, but no less entertaining.
6. ‘There’s our Mongolian!!!’
Sahith Theegala found himself (unintentionally) in hot water earlier this week when he used “Mongolian” off-hand to describe a match-play term called a “Mongolian Reversal.”
Schauffele, who found Theegala’s initial snafu particularly hilarious, was once again in the middle of things with Theegala in the victory presser.
Theegala had given a thoughtful, emotional answer about the excitement he felt playing for Team USA for the first time, and about how dear he would hold the memory of playing on this team for the rest of his days. But as soon as he was done speaking, Schauffele butted-in at full volume with a laugh.
“There’s our Mongolian!”
7. Finau’s bold proclamation
Asked for the night’s plans, Tony Finau finally stepped to the microphone and bellowed.
“In the wise words of Travis Kelce,” Finau started, before his teammates’ yells drowned him out. “You’ve gotta fight, for your right … to party!!!!”
“Only time will tell,” Finau said.
Indeed.
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