If there is one thing this year’s Presidents Cup had, it was a lot of drama. The American squad dominated on the first day, but the Internationals cleanly swept their opponents on Friday by tying at 5-5. Things did not work in the International squad’s favor, and their 26-year-long winless drought continued but one thing was for sure: the team led by Mike Weir was feisty. Be it the pairing of Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim or the fight that Adam Scott, Sungjae Im, and other players put up.
From Scottie Scheffler to Xander Schauffele, all the players shared how tough a fight their opponents had put up. Kevin Kisner, too, was one of the players who recently shared the difficulty of clinching the trophy this year at Royal Montreal. Smylie Kauffman uploaded the latest episode of his podcast, The Smylie Kauffman Show on YouTube with Kevin Kisner as the guest. They spoke about the US’s triumph and when he was asked if he would want to change the format of the game, Kisner replied, “I don’t even see what adjustments could be made.” He then went on to add that although they had won the game by seven points, the victory was closer than that.
If a team has been winless for over 2 decades, the pressure is bound to get to them, right? Kisner reiterated just that. “I think you know they have kind of just got to a point where mentally they are not sure if they can win, and I think if they ever burst out and win one, they could go on a run of beating us. But I just love the way that our guys keep the pedal down,” said Kevin Kisner. He then went on to add how the singles can be a pretty daunting round since tables can turn at any moment. “All of a sudden we feel like we got kicked in the teeth, and we’re not sure how we’re going to respond,” concluded Kisner.
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via Getty
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – SEPTEMBER 25: The U.S. Team (Back L-R) Captain’s Assistant Kevin Kisner, Captain’s Assistant Stuart Cink, Tony Finau, Keegan Bradley, Sahith Theegala, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Captain’s Assistant Brandt Snedeker, Captain’s Assistant Justin Leonard, (Front L-R) Brian Harman, Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns, Captain Jim Furyk, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley and Patrick Cantlay pose for a team photo prior to the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on September 25, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Well, it was not just him who was rather intimidated by the performance of the International Team, a certain 2x major winner also felt similar.
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Xander Schauffele confessed that the Korean players brought fire to the match
Tom Kim had accused Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay of having bad sportsmanship. However, later on, the 22-year-old apologized for what he stated. At the post-round conference on Sunday, Schauffele also ensured that he gave Korean players like Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim the praise they deserved. He stated that it was the Kims duo that had brought the heat at the Presidents Cup.
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“This course might be, I don’t know, 7,000 yards, but those boys cover about 9,000 yards in a round of golf, at least the ones that I played against them. They hit unbelievable shots. PC [Patrick Cantlay] and I saw it,” said Schauffele. He even added how tough a fight that had put out, as a result of which both the American players had to put in their best shots. He concluded by saying that although he has a lot of respect for all the players of the International Team, the Koreans stole the show for him.
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