MONTREAL — It’s not often that assistant captains in team competitions do much more than driving a cart, fetching sandwiches and holding their trusty walkie-talkie. But on Thursday at the 2024 Presidents Cup, U.S. Assistant Captain Kevin Kisner and International Team Assistant Captain Camilo Villegas added a new twist on the job, engaging in a war of words.
“They took gamesmanship too far and over the line on sportsmanship and lose some integrity,” Kisner told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis. “I thought it was pretty bush league and I told Camilo that if that’s the way they want to do it, then game on. If you can piss off my No. 1 player in the world, then I’m all for it.”
Kisner’s comments relate back to the eighth hole, where Tom Kim sank a birdie putt and tried to stir up the crowd with fist pumps and shouting, “Come on!” What riled up Kisner was seeing Kim and partner Sungjae Im exit the green and head to the ninth tee to talk to Villegas before Scheffler had attempted his putt to tie the hole. It’s an unwritten rule among golfers to wait, or simply the courteous thing to do, and Kisner didn’t like it one bit.
Golf Channel’s John Wood was walking with the group and he expressed surprise too: “Kim and Im have left. They have gone to the ninth tee box and have absolutely left. They are 60 yards away and are not watching. Things are definitely getting a little chippy right now.”
@GolfChannel reporter @ToddLewisGC joined @GolfCentral at the @PresidentsCup tonight to discuss the exchanges between U.S. vice captain Kevin Kisner and INT vice captain Camilo Villegas regarding Tom Kim/Sungjae Im leaving the 8th green with Scottie Scheffler still putting. pic.twitter.com/x1oFjbySq4
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) September 26, 2024
Golf Channel’s Paul McGinley later chimed in: “That’s bordering on bad behavior. That’s disrespectful in my opinion.
“I’m a great believer in that you don’t want to give the opponent energy, you don’t want to put a chip on their shoulder and give them the moral high ground. Their behavior was not the moral high ground. They didn’t pay the respect of watching their opponent’s putt. That’s not a good psychological position for the Internationals.”
But when Scheffler was asked if it bothered him, he claimed that he didn’t see it. His partner, Russell Henley, however did. “It bothered me a little bit.”
But not as much as Kisner, who confronted Villegas. “When Kim and Im…
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