Inside a chippy Presidents Cup: Tempers flare, fist-pumps fly in Saturday showdown

MONTREAL — What a day at the Presidents Cup! Our writers were on the ground at Royal Montreal Golf Club Saturday from Scottie Scheffler’s first foggy tee shot to Patrick Cantlay’s electric final putt. They got together post-round to break down a chippy, dramatic afternoon showdown.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): Hello, James. Hello, Nick. What a day of golf — and sheesh, what a final couple hours! Midway through the afternoon session the U.S. didn’t lead in a single match and it looked like we could be headed for a tie game headed to Sunday singles. But my, how the turn tables. An hour and several mini-controversies later, they left the session in the dark with a 3-1 win and a four-point 11-7 advantage heading to Sunday. 

I think it’s worth keying in on a few specific moments from the afternoon session; they’ll speak to the tension of the day. Let’s start with the strangest and juiciest moment of the post-round pressers: Tom Kim’s allegations of poor sportsmanship on the part of the U.S. team. He suggested that some American players had been cursing at him during the afternoon round, though he didn’t say who. His opponents seemed perplexed by the accusations. What do we make of Kim’s post-round pop-off?

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): Hello Dylan! I don’t claim to know what incident Tom was referring to post-round, but I think we all know why he said what he said. He’d fought a thrilling, high-intensity, heavyweight bout for the better part of the previous four hours, and before that he’d played another intense four-ball match, and then at the end he’d had his soul ripped from his body by Patrick Cantlay on the last stroke of the day. I don’t know if the U.S. was cursing in his direction, but I’m not sure it matters. He was upset by the outcome, and in that moment, it all felt personal.

Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): Without hearing it, and this being a matter of he said/they said, it’s hard to come to a firm opinion here, except for this: Things were hot. Clutch putts. Night-night celebrations. A nightfall match-winner. I do believe Kim heard something, which is unfortunate, but the golf and the passion made for fantastic theater. In two Presidents Cup appearances, Kim has seemingly become the face of the event, and Team USA recognizes that.

Dethier: One notable detail from Kim’s remarks: his loss was fresh at the presser. Like, it had just happened. He was whisked straight from the 18th green to the microphone before he’d had even a minute to cool off. I’m sure that was a factor in him saying what he said; you could tell that directly after he’d laid out those allegations he was already trying to walk ’em back.

One group behind, though, we found a chippy rivalry I was not expecting: Scottie Scheffler vs. Hideki Matsuyama. On the day’s final few holes the heat in that match got turned way up between the two former Masters champs as the Americans stormed back. What did you see out there in the final match of the day?

Colgan: For all the talk on Saturday evening about Tom Kim, I actually thought it was his buddy, Scottie Scheffler, who had the iciest match on Saturday afternoon. I nearly fell over when Scheffler and Henley closed out Matsuyama and Sungjae Im on the last hole. Scottie was hot, and seemed to take his sweet time celebrating the victory (loudly and enthusiastically, as he’d earned the right to do) before returning for a quick, curt handshake. Henley wouldn’t say what happened after, but my eyes are peeled for the rematch tomorrow.

Piastowski: Whew. Just on the last couple holes there were questions on drops. A vulgar shout from a fan. Police involvement. Big celebrations. A rally. For those wondering about the how-much-do-players-care level of this event, you got an answer here from the World No. 1. But the trash from the fan has no place. 

Dethier: I was standing by the 16th green when that match closed and saw what you guys did — Scheffler turned up to 11. He was burning so hot that even after a few handshakes he yelled and spiked his hat, Gronk-style, on the edge of the green. A weird drop, a nasty comment and a giant comeback all contributed, I’m sure. There’s also this: before that match Scheffler was, strangely, 0-5-0 in foursomes between the Ryder and Presidents Cup. Now he’s on the board in a big way.

Another guy who loved getting (and giving) some trash-talk today: Sam Burns! Here’s what he said after:

“I think if they’re going to come at me, why shouldn’t I go at them? That seems fair to me. If people are going to shout out behind ropes or whatever and say whatever they want, just because I’m inside of them doesn’t mean I can’t yell back at them.

“I think there’s appropriate times for it. I think you’ve got to let them know that you’re not scared of what they say and you’re not afraid of a couple laughs with their buddies. They think they tell a good joke. So, yeah, I like it.”

What do you make of Burns, the only undefeated Presidents Cupper left?

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Colgan: Dylan, you know I’ve been critical of Burns’ U.S. team performances in the past, but I loved what he brought today. He’s totally unafraid of the moment, and in fact, totally unafraid of anyone at all. Irrational confidence plays well in match play, and Burns has it.

Piastowski: If it’s peaceful banter, I’m down. Heel-turns are a hoot. So is passion. It helps you pick a side, and this week, sides appear to have been drawn.

Dethier: I thought it was Burns at his most American, if that makes sense. Brash. Cocky. Eager and ready to fire back. The key to being that way, I think, is backing it up on the scoreboard, and when you putt like he does that’s a good start. Fair play by Burns — he seems like he can dish it out and take it, too.

What am I missing? What else happened that added to an electric afternoon at Royal Montreal?

Colgan: Si Woo Kim’s ‘night-night’ celebration — in honor of his favorite NBA player Steph Curry — is a moment that will stick with me for the rest of my days. I think Si Woo has seen his stock rise more than any other player in the tournament, and moments like that are why. Even though it didn’t work out.

Piastowski: This will get lost, but Mackenzie Hughes’ bunker hole-out for eagle on 12 to pull his afternoon match even, in front of his home country’s fans, was electric. Hughes is low-key one of the stars of the week here.

Dethier: I think it’s tough to convey the atmosphere properly. I can give you some nice descriptive adjectives like adversarial or hostile or chippy or tense or unwelcoming or electric, and that gets you on the right track. But really it just felt like high-stakes sports, where the home crowd wanted very badly for their guys to win — and they let the other side know.

I’ll just finish with a moment of appreciation for Cantlay, who was other-worldly at the end of both his matches today. Let’s not forget the way he finished morning four-ball: Chip-in eagle at 12, par at 13, kick-in birdie at 14, 23-foot birdie putt at 15 and an 18-footer for birdie at 16, refusing to give an inch to Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama. He finished with six 3s in a row. And then came tonight.

Can’t wait for Sunday.