Americans accused of swearing at rivals and caddie tackles heckler at Presidents Cup

US team lead 11-7 going into Sunday’s singles after another bad-tempered day at Royal Montreal

Tom Kim accused American players of swearing at him during the Presidents Cup as hostilities boiled over on a penultimate day during which Scottie Scheffler’s caddie jumped into the crowd to face down a heckler.
Kim was criticised for “disrespect” during Thursday’s first session of the match at Royal Montreal when he marched 50 yards to the next tee while Scheffler was still on the green lining up a putt for a half.
The Korean’s animated antics have clearly wound up the US section of the galleries and also, it seems, members of the opposition themselves. Kim claimed that he and Si Woo Kim were “cursed at” during a foursomes defeat to Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele that allowed Team USA to take a commanding 11-7 lead going into Sunday’s concluding singles session.
The atmosphere was inevitably tense after Friday’s comeback from the Internationals – they pegged back to 5-5 with a clean sweep – and this particular Saturday afternoon encounter showed its potential to flare up in the early stages when Kim was asked to putt a two-footer.
After converting it, he laid his putter down and used it as a measuring stick to illustrate how close his ball had been. According to the 22-year-old, he all too soon came under foul-mouthed attack.
“It got a little feisty out there; I could hear some players cursing at us,” Kim said. “That part – I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there. You see me out there throwing fist pumps and jumping on the green. It’s all part of it, I get it. [But] I just don’t think there’s a need to look at someone and curse at them. I just don’t think there’s a need for it.”
Kim later confirmed to Golf Channel that he was not referring to Schauffele or Cantlay, but to other US players who were watching the clash that was eventually decided in dramatic scenes when Cantlay holed a 20-footer. 
Schauffele was bemused by Kim’s accusations. “I have no clue if anyone was doing any of that,” he said. “I don’t believe any of our guys would do something like that. So I’m not sure what he was hearing.”
The world No 2 pointed out that he and Cantlay asked the Team USA entourage to quieten down while Si Woo Kim lined up his 15-footer on 18 to halve the match. “Pat and I treated the Kims with the utmost respect,” he added.
Which was more than can be said for one fan who was evicted after shouting an inappropriate comment at Scheffler about his wife, Meredith. Sports Illustrated reported that the world No 1’s veteran bagman, Ted Scott, stormed into the galleries and shouted “Who’s the jerk who said that?”
Scheffler’s playing partner, Russell Henley, dismissed the incident, saying it did not affect their concentration as they saw off Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im 3&2. “No, it didn’t distract us,” he said. “Once it happened, we just kind of refocused and got back in it.”
There was no comment from Scheffler.