CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Justin Thomas and Si Woo Kim went out first in the Sunday singles matches at the 2022 Presidents Cup, and the pair of The Players champions didn’t disappoint.
Thomas held a 2-up lead at the turn but started to leak a little oil on the back nine, and Kim was there to take advantage with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11. Tied on the par-4 15th, Kim made an 7-footer for par to keep the match squared, let out a fist pump and proceeded to shush the crowd.
Thomas saw the whole thing while he walked to the 16th tee and didn’t take too kindly to Kim’s gesture to the fans.
“Honestly, at the time, I was pretty pissed off,” said Thomas, who lost the match 1 down to remain winless in Presidents Cup singles. “No, it’s one of those things, 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.
“So I can say whatever I want about it, but he beat me. So he has the upper hand on me,” Thomas continued. “But we won the Cup, so that’s all that matters.”
The clap-back didn’t stop there.
Earlier in the day during the final round of matches, CBS Sports’ Kyle Porter pointed out how Thomas was frustrated by Kim not conceding what he thought to be a gimme putt on the par-4 9th, which he made to go 2-up in the match. The two-time major champion took to Twitter after the fact to have a little fun at the moment caught on camera.
PGA Tour stats had the putt right in the middle at 2 feet, 7 inches, so maybe JT had a point after all.