The United States winning the Presidents Cup was never in doubt on Sunday, but that does not mean it wasn’t without drama.
In the first singles match of the day, Justin Thomas and Si Woo Kim held a back-and-forth duel that the South Korean won 1-up. It was Kim’s celebration on the 15th hole that had Thomas riled up.
After Kim matched Thomas with a par — both players making roughly 7-foot par putts — he shushed the American crowd at Quail Hollow and did an emphatic fist pump. The NBC cameras then flashed to Thomas, who had already begun his walk to the next tee and he looked enraged by Kim’s actions as he kept marching forward.
“Honestly, at the time, I was pretty pissed off,” Thomas told Golf Channel after the US triumphed 17.-5-12.5.
“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.”
The tension in the match had started on the 13th hole when Kim opted not to concede a 3-foot par putt to the American. Patrick Reed famously shushed the Ryder Cup crowd in Scotland in 2014 to start the trend.
“I saw that Patrick did it before,” Kim said, “and yeah, J.T. 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.”
Kim had one of the more successful weeks for the International Team, going 3-1 in his matches.
Si Woo KIm shushes the crowd at the Presidents Cup. 
Justin Thomas storms away from the 15th hole. 
Justin Thomas and Si Woo Kim during their Presidents Cup match on Sept. 25, 2022. 
Justin Thomas and Si Woo Kim shake hands after the match. “I mean, 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,” Thomas said. “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.”
