Presidents Cup star Tom Kim admitted he apologised to Xander Schauffele at the weekend (Image: GETTY)
Presidents Cup star Tom Kim exclaimed “I just said I’m sorry” to Xander Schauffele after of “unsportsmanlike” behaviour following the penultimate day of action in Canada. USA clinched victory against the International team as they won the contest 18½-11½.
Kim went head-to-head with Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay alongside team-mate Si Woo Kim in the foursomes on Saturday, with the USA pairing clinching the points for their team.
The South Korean star allowed his frustrations to boil over at one stage of the match, however, as he laid his putter down and used it as a measuring stick after his opponents refused to concede a putt from close-range.
Kim then went on the assault after the action had ended as he accused USA players of swearing at him.
“I could hear some players cursing at us,” he said. “That part wasn’t really… I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there. But it’s all part of the fun. I understand it.”
Schauffele denied the allegations as he explained: “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.”
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Xander Schauffele helped USA defeat their International rivals at the Presidents Cup in Canada (Image: GETTY)
And following the final day of play, Kim admitted he reached out to Schauffele to apologise for his comments. “It was just about my comments yesterday,” Kim revealed. “I just told him like: ‘Hey, I didn’t mean it to go in such a negative way’. If it did, I just said I’m sorry.
“It was just I felt like what I heard yesterday, some comments that I’ve heard was at that time, just coming off the green. It came to me so personally and just I felt like it was right to share.
“I really didn’t mean to… because when I played with Patrick and Xander, obviously we’ve battled a few times and they’ve always been such great competitors. They’ve never… I’ve always felt like there’s such a good sportsmanship between us.
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“It was just outside the ropes, and I felt like that was a little misunderstanding on my part, which I should have explained better.
“So I went to him and I said: ‘I didn’t mean it that way. I apologise if it came out wrongly. It was just this and this happened, but if it affected you guys so negatively, I really do apologise. I didn’t mean to do it in that way.’”
The 22-year-old added: “This event is all about doing things you would never do and creating energy and doing all these things. I do certain things on the greens when I make putts, and I expect them to do the same thing. It’s all part of the game. It was just about that.”