Justin Thomas Unimpressed With Si Woo Kim Presidents Cup Shushing

Justin Thomas admitted he got “pretty p***** off” at Si Woo Kim during their feisty Presidents Cup singles match after the South Korean ‘shushed’ the Quail Hollow crowd following a point-saving putt.

Passions were already running high, with JT not amused by the South Korean not conceding a short putt a couple of holes earlier, when the two-time PGA Championship winner gave a big fist pump as he saved par at the 15th. Kim responded by sinking his putt to keep the match tied and lifting his finger to his lips in celebration.

“Honestly, at the time, I was pretty p***** off,” said Thomas afterwards. “I think when you're in the moment, when you're on the other side of it, it's something that gets you motivated, gets you pumped up a little bit.”

In a barnstorming finish to the opening singles match, Kim birdied the 16th to go 1up, Thomas made a three at the par-4 17th to draw level again before the International player did the same at the final hole to take the point.

“I saw that Patrick [Reed] did it before,” said Kim, referring to the famous incident at the 2014 Ryder Cup. “And yeah, JT give me fist pump, and then I had to do it. And I had to make it, and I made it. Then, like, yeah, I had to do something. I think that give me more energy.”

While Kim may have got the International team off to the best possible start, extending his record to a team-best 3-1-0, it was the American team who lifted the trophy once again, something not lost on Thomas, despite the blemish to his previously perfect record.

“He hit the shots and made the putts better than I did the last three holes or, really, the last nine holes when he needed to,” admitted Thomas. “So I can say whatever I want about it, but he beat me. So he has the upper hand on me. But we won the Cup so that's all that matters.”

Having won all four foursomes and fourballs for Team USA in partnership with Jordan Speith on the first two days, both American stars went into the singles with the chance to become the sixth player in history to go 5-0 in a Presidents Cup, and while Spieth managed to see off Cam Davis 4&3 to join Mark O’Meara, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Shigeki Maruyama and Branden Grace, Thomas could not complete the perfect week.

For Spieth it was doubly impressive to join that exclusive club, given he’d never won a singles match in any previous Presidents or Ryder Cup. “It feels really good,” said Spieth, who went into the Sunday singles a combined 0-6-1.

“I was more nervous than I probably should have been today just because I want to get that monkey off my back. I tied Tommy last year, but I hadn't gotten win yet It feels really good. When you go out early as I've done pretty much every team event on a Sunday, they're looking for red on the board, and it feels good to finally provide that.”