RIDGELAND, S.C. – During an off week spent at home in Dallas, Jordan Spieth experienced something he wasn’t used to – being the worst person in a foursome.
This wasn’t golf – that would be near impossible for the three-time major winner and former World No. 1 – but a doubles pickleball match with partner Scottie Scheffler in the Celebrity Battle of the Paddle exhibition in Frisco, Texas on Thursday. The PGA stars took on former Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki and John Isner, one of the top American tennis players during the Professional Pickleball Association’s PPA Tour Round Up.
“It was a really weird feeling going in front of a big crowd knowing you were the worst on the court, and I didn’t like that at all,” said Spieth, noting that Scheffler plays pickleball, a combination of tennis, Ping-Pong and badminton, nearly every day and he had played less than 10 times. “I’m fine in front of a crowd if I know that I’ve practiced and I’m good at what I’m going to do. But I wouldn’t say like I’m bad, but when you’re the worst of the ones that are going to be on there and there’s like 500 people there, you’re like this kind of stinks, I don’t really enjoy this.”
In case he didn’t make it clear, Spieth shared a conversation he had with caddie Michael Greller and a no-to subtle dig at his caddie’s golf abilities.
“So I asked Michael, is that what it’s like when you’re hitting shots at like 17 at Sawgrass or 16 at Phoenix? I’m like, is this kind of how it feels? He’s like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘That’s why I’ll either hit it really close or I’ll miss the green.’”
The good news is, Spieth’s golf game has been trending in the right direction as he prepares to make his season debut at the CJ Cup in South Carolina at Congaree Golf Club. When he last competed, Spieth was a perfect 5-0 in leading Team USA to victory at the Presidents Cup, including his first victory in singles at either the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. (He was previously a combined 0-6-1.) Spieth, who won an hour’s drive away in April at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island and enters the week at No. 13 in the world, said he has found more joy in the actual work involved in improving than he has in the past while conceding there is more work to be done to achieve the lofty goals he still has for his career.
“I had some inconsistencies this year. Sorry, this last season. I didn’t have a great putting season by any means, but I also felt that ball-striking was a little more inconsistent than the previous year, and I knew why and I just needed a few weeks at home to try and figure it out. I kind of got to work right after East Lake and really tried to nail a lot in pre-Presidents Cup,” he explained. “Then kind of the week leading in, I really started to kind of have things click a bit.”
He continued: “In the last couple years, I’ve really enjoyed the process, really enjoyed the work more than ever. Now I’m more enjoying my day-to-day work in getting to a place of freedom, getting to the feels where I’m like, man, I’m going to get there and then I’m going to stripe it all day. It’s that kind of excitement that I’m kind of finding in the ground that’s in the work, that’s probably what I see the biggest difference from even rookie year to when I was struggling to more recently. I’m appreciating the work and trying to maximize the time that I have when I am working and enjoying that process more than I would say the end benefit of winning a tournament or winning matches.”
Spieth said he plans to play a limited schedule this fall – he has committed to the Hero World Challenge and PNC Championship, both unofficial events in December – and chose to play the CJ Cup in order to try to jumpstart his 2022-23 season.
“I don’t want to start really behind like I have last two years come Kapalua (Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first event in January),” he said, “so it would be really nice to get off to a good start and have a strong finish here because I think this is probably the only FedEx Cup event that I’m able to play this fall.”
Kim was one of the most entertaining golfers at the event, culminating in one of the most electric moments in recent Presidents Cup history. Walking in a putt on the 18th hole to beat Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele and clinch a point for the rallying Internationals made for epic TV and even more epic photographs.
While he’s not going viral, Kim continues to rise in the ranks as one of the best golfers in the world. The 20-year-old Korean already has 10 professional wins worldwide, including a FedEx Cup victory at the 2022 Wyndham Championship.
Moving forward, Kim has all the tools to become a global superstar and we can’t wait to see how it plays out.
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to go in.”
LAS VEGAS — It might not be the putt heard ’round the world, but Tom Kim’s clinching putt on Saturday at the 2022 Presidents Cup and ensuing celebration was the definitive highlight of the week, despite Kim’s International squad loss.
Kim had already burst onto the golf scene with his Wyndham Championship win two months ago but it was his performance—and youthful exuberance—than won over the hearts and minds of golf fans.
To reset the stage, Kim had teamed up with Si Woo Kim for their afternoon match against the previously undefeated pairing of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. On 18, Kim poured in a 10-footer for birdie, walking off the putt before it even dropped and then celebrating with his teammates.
The highlight made an impression on everyone watching. It also made for a great memory for Kim.
“I can remember every single moment of me walking up to that green and looking at that putt, seeing my whole team there,” Kim said Wednesday ahead of the Shriners Children’s Open, his third PGA Tour start since winning the Wyndham. “I was just looking down and thinking to myself that ‘Man, I want this putt to go in more than anything in the world’, because I’m just not playing for myself, I’m playing for everyone on that team.”
The prognosticators pegged the U.S. team as heavy favorites and after the first two days, the Americans led 8-2. But Saturday brought an International surge.
“With where we were at on Saturday, knowing that one, two points is just a huge difference, and once I hit that putt. … I was putting so well that all I needed to do was just have the right speed on it,” Kim said.
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to go in.”
International team member Tom Kim watches his winning putt go in on the 18th green during the Saturday matches at the 2022 Presidents Cup at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo: Chris Carlson/Associated Press)
So has he gone back to watch the video?
“I’ve watched it a lot of times,” Kim said, smiling. “I still watch it sometimes because it gives me motivation.
“The funny thing is PGA Tour did like a five-minute video thing on YouTube. They had the whole routine and everything. But what’s funny is that after that video finishes, Max [Homa] goes and says, ‘Subscribe here and like here’, and I wish I would have turned it off because I’m still kind of angered at losing to Max.”
Homa is also competing in the Shriners Children’s Open this week and had high praise for the 20-year-old Kim. The two had a memorable Sunday singles match at Quail Hollow.
“Tom is obviously a rock star,” Homa said. “I think first and foremost, he’s an amazingly nice person. I’ve listened to him on podcasts as of late, and he’s great. He’s got like that fresh outlook on the game of golf, which is cool. He’s 20 years old, so that’s amazing to even be out here.
“To be able to qualify for the Presidents Cup at that age is crazy to me. He played awesome all week. He was the catalyst of the team I felt like. His emotion was cool.”
Fellow Korean and Presidents Cup teammate Sungjae Im, in Vegas to defend his title, said Kim has “great potential to become a big star. I’m glad he’s doing well. I’m happy as a competitor, as a friend. Him doing well motivates me to do well, and likewise the other way. I think we’re going to have some good competition and good friendship.”
As far as this week, Kim says he thinks the TPC Summerlin golf course fits his game.
“I think it’s a great golf course for me. It’s a great setup. I really like the way it’s designed and it kind of suits my eye a little bit. I’m really excited to be here.
“I was actually here last year in Vegas. I didn’t play this event, but I was here during that week, and I remember I wanted to play, and I’m excited to finally be able to play here this week.”
View photos of Presidents Cup International Team member Corey Conners throughout his professional career.
Corey Conners has been one of the most consistent players on Tour.
As an amateur, Conners played at Kent State University and was a runner-up in the 2014 U.S. Amateur. Turning professional in 2016, Conners joined the PGA Tour full-time in 2018.
The Canada native traded in his hockey stick and sweater for a cowboy hat and boots with his first Tour win at the Valero Texas Open in 2019. With the win, Conners became just the fourth Monday qualifier to win a PGA Tour event since the practice was installed in 1983.
In his first Presidents Cup appearance, Conners had hoped to help turn the tide at Quail Hollow against a stacked United States team. It didn’t work out too well, as he lost all four matches he was a part of.
Polos, quarter zips and pint glasses, oh my! What better way to celebrate the U.S. Presidents Cup victory?
The U.S. held its lead throughout Sunday singles and secured its ninth consecutive Presidents Cup victory at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kisner was clearly ready to celebrate his team’s victory, and now so can you.
Golfweek has compiled a list of some of the best Team USA and Presidents Cup gear out there so you can celebrate today and for at least the next 23 months.
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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.
“I have never seen a better display of golfers and a worse display of partiers, and I am the best partier.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – While Davis Love III may never make it public, Kevin Kisner knows that he was 13th man on Team USA, a last-minute Captain’s pick that otherwise belonged to the injured Will Zalatoris.
Kisner expected to be spending the week hunting, fishing and trying to gain some weight, he said, before Love called him during the Tour Championship and told him he might be needed.
“Kevin Kisner even put down his bow and picked up his clubs after thinking he might have a little bit of a break,” Love said.
Kisner made his second career appearance in the Presidents Cup and tallied a record of 0-2-1 this week, which included a loss Sunday to South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout. But Sunday night that was of little consequence to Kisner, who stole the show again in the post-victory press conference, beginning when he tossed an empty Fireball shooter into a sea of reporters.
His teammates had been calling Kisner, 38, Grandpa, but apparently experience has its benefits, as he explained. Asked about the pending team victory celebration that is sure to last into the wee hours of the morning, Kisner said, “My experience can ultimately win in this scenario. There is nothing that any of these (guys) can do that can hang with me tonight, I promise you.”
He continued: “I have never seen a better display of golfers and a worse display of partiers, and I am the best partier on this (dais). Amen.”
And in the perfect ending to the press conference he added, “That’s why they picked me. I got half a point, but I brought the fun.”
Four players went undefeated and six failed to earn a win at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The United States held off a charging International squad to claim the 2022 Presidents Cup, 17½-12½, and extend its win streak to nine events dating to 2005.
In the event’s 28-year history, the Americans have dominated to the tune of a 12-1-1 record, losing in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Australia and tying in 2003 at Fancourt Hotel and Country Club in South Africa.
Speaking of impressive records, Jordan Spieth made his pitch to be the new Captain America with an impressive 5-0-0 showing this week at Quail Hollow Club, with rookie Max Homa just behind him at 4-0-0 after sitting out Saturday afternoon’s four-ball session. On the other side, rookies Sebastian Munoz (2-0-1) and Christiaan Bezuidenhout (1-0-1) were the lone unbeaten players for the Internationals.
Three players went winless for each team, but only two failed to earn a point, and they’re both from Canada, who will play host in 2024 when the event heads to Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal.
Here’s a breakdown of how each player fared this week by event at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
Breaking down the final matches of the 2022 Presidents Cup.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Internationals made things interesting midway through Sunday’s final round of singles matches at the 2022 Presidents Cup, but in the end, it was the United States who came out on top.
Xander Schauffele clinched the winning point point for the Americans at Quail Hollow Club, defeating Corey Conners, 1 up, to seal the deal and earn the U.S. its ninth consecutive win in the biennial bout against the worldwide all-stars. The Internationals have won just once back in 1998 and earned a tie in 2003. The U.S. have won the other 11 competitions, six by four or more points.
Here’s a breakdown of each of the 12 Sunday singles matches at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
Sunday singles results
Si Woo Kim (Intl.) def. Justin Thomas (U.S.), 1 up
Si Woo Kim shushed the crowd, with his finger and with a clutch birdie putt at 18 to edge Justin Thomas 1 up.
“ It’s really special for me because I play with J.T. a match like three years ago,” said Kim, noting he was beaten on the 13th hole. “I was a little emotional. But this time, I (got) revenge.”
Thomas made birdies on two of the first four holes, clenching his fist after canning the putt at No. 4 and exclaiming, “Let’s go!”
But Kim battled back, rallying on the back nine with birdies at Nos. 10 and 11 to tie the match. Thomas regained the lead at the 12th but gave it back with a bogey at 14. Kim fired up the crowd when he shushed them at 15.
“J.T. give me fist pump, and then I had to do it. And I had to make it, and I made it,” Kim said of his putt to tie the hole. “Then, like, yeah, I had to do something. I think that give me more energy.”
Kim backed up his gesture by taking his first lead of the day with a birdie at 16. Thomas responded with a 4-foot birdie at 17 to send it to the final hole deadlocked.
Both Thomas and Kim hit their approaches to 10 feet. Kim putted first and canned it; Thomas missed on the low side. He dropped to 0-3 in singles in the Presidents Cup. — Schupak
International Team golfer Si Woo Kim (right) shushes the crowd during Sunday singles at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club. (Photo: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)
Jordan Spieth (U.S.) def. Cam Davis (Intl.), 4 and 3
Jordan Spieth is winless in singles no more. The American rallied from a 2-down deficit through three holes to defeat Cam Davis, 4 and 3.
“I was more nervous than I probably should have been today just because I want to get that monkey off my back,” Spieth said.
Playing in his fourth Presidents Cup, Spieth hadn’t won in six combined singles matches between the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.
“I had a great back nine,” said Spieth, who rattled off three straight birdies beginning at No. 11 to take control of the match. “When you go out early as I’ve done pretty much every team event on a Sunday, they’re looking for red on the board, and it feels good to finally provide that.”
It capped off a phenomenal week for Spieth, who had a perfect record of 5-0-0 and became the first player to do so since South Africa’s Branden Grace in 2015.
“He putted great,” Davis said of Spieth. “He kept his momentum early when he wasn’t playing great, and then I think he got a little comfortable when I started missing a few shots.” — Schupak
Team USA golfer Jordan Spieth lines up his chip shot on the second hole during the singles match play of the Presidents Cup golf tournament at Quail Hollow Club. (Photo: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)
Hideki Matsuyama (Intl.) ties Sam Burns (U.S.)
American Sam Burns and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama dueled to a tie and a half point for each side.
Matsuyama took the early lead with a birdie at the second and stretched the lead to 2 up at the turn. That’s when Burns flipped the match in his favor, making three straight birdies beginning at No. 10 to assume the lead. Burns, however, made a double bogey at 15 to gift-wrap that hole to Matsuyama and the match was tied once more.
Matsuyama nearly stole a full point when his birdie chip at 18 crashed into the flagstick but didn’t drop. Burns had a chance for the win but missed his 23-foot birdie putt.
Burns had a record of 0-2-2 while Matsuyama went 1-3-1. — Schupak
Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) def. Adam Scott (Intl.), 3 and 2
Patrick Cantlay wasn’t going to lose twice in a row, and it showed early in his singles match against the veteran Adam Scott. The American held at least a 2-up lead from the third hole and on and put Scott to bed on the 16th hole, 3 and 2.
Scott won just two holes on Sunday and made more bogeys than birdies to bookend a week to forget that saw him go 2-3-0 in his record 10th appearance in the event. — Woodard
Sebastian Munoz (Intl.) def. Scottie Scheffler (U.S.), 2 and 1
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler held the advantage for most of the front nine before a three-hole swing on Nos. 8-10 saw Sebastian Munoz take control.
Both players drove the green and made eagle on the 325-yard par-4 11th and they also matched each other’s birdie-bogey-par efforts on holes 12-14 before Munoz pulled ahead, 2 up, with birdie on the 15th. Scheffler got one back when Munoz left the door open with bogey on the 16th, but ended the match on the next hole, 2 and 1, after a Scheffler concession.
In his Presidents Cup debut, the reigning Masters champion failed to win a match and went 0-3-1 while Munoz was an impressive 2-0-1. — Woodard
Tony Finau (U.S.) def. Taylor Pendrith (Intl.), 3 and 1
A real back-and-forth match here saw both players lead for at least six holes, with Tony Finau winning the first two before Pendrith won four of the next five to take a 2-up lead of his own.
Slowly but surely the American climbed back with wins on Nos. 9, 12 and 13 to take a 1-up that he never gave back. Consecutive birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 sealed the deal for the 3-and-1 victory and brought the Americans just one point away from victory. — Woodard
Team USA golfer Tony Finau celebrates making his putt on the first green during the singles match play of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)
Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Corey Conners (Intl.), 1 up
The deciding point came from a tightly-contested match between Corey Conners and Xander Schauffele.
Tied through the first five holes, consecutive wins gave Schauffele a 2-up lead that he extended to 3 up before he let Conners back into the fold. Looking for his country’s first point of the week, the Canadian won Nos. 12-14 to square the match before a bogey of his own gave the lead back to Schauffele on 15. The 16th was squared with birdies and Conners failed to take advantage of a Schauffele bogey on the 17th, which sent the match to the 18th, where par was good enough to decide the event. — Woodard
Sungjae Im (Intl.) def. Cameron Young (U.S.), 1 up
Cameron Young never led his match against Sungjae Im, who won the first three holes with par. Then it was Young’s turn as the young American claimed three of the next five to square the match just before the turn.
The pair went shot-for-shot aside from an Im birdie on the 12th, where he briefly took a 1-up lead before giving it up two holes later after a bogey on No. 15. A Young three-putt on the 17th gave the lead back to Im, which he turned into a 1-up win. — Woodard
K.H. Lee (Intl.) def. Billy Horschel (U.S.), 3 and 1
Billy Horschel’s national team debut didn’t quite go as planned as the 35-year-old went just 1-2-0 after a 3-and-1 loss to K.H. Lee. The South Korean was in control from the jump, winning the first two holes to take a lead that he never relinquished.
In fact, Horschel won just three holes and got as close as 1-down, but this one was never in doubt. — Woodard
Max Homa (U.S.) def. Tom Kim (Intl.), 1 up
Have a debut, Max Homa. The fan-favorite went undefeated at Quail Hollow and had to come back against one of the best players this week, 20-year-old South Korean rising star Tom Kim.
Kim got all the way to 3 up around the turn before Homa caught absolute fire on No. 12, winning four consecutive holes to flip the match by taking advantage of multiple missteps from Kim. Homa never gave it back and ended the week a perfect 4-0-0.
“Best week of golf I could ever imagine. It was very special just to be on this team and to contribute and to bond with the guys,” said Homa. “Some of the moments we’ve had together on the golf course and in the team room have been amazing. I feel very, very, very lucky to be on this team.”
— Woodard
Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Mito Pereira (Intl.), 3 and 2
Mito Pereira won just one hole in his match against Collin Morikawa, but it came just a little too late. The pair were tied through four holes before Morikawa made birdie on the par-4 5th, followed by an eagle on the par-5 7th and another birdie on the par-4 8th to take a 3-up lead to the back.
The two-time major champion then went 4 up with a birdie on the 10th before Pereira’s lone win on the 11th. The next five holes were tied as Morikawa did just what he needed to do to put yet another point on the board for the U.S.
“I haven’t won in a while. And just to kind of feel those nerves and kind of feel that energy, it was so exciting,” said Morikawa. “Those are the things we live for. I think every single one of us here on both teams loves that position that you’re in when you’re coming down the stretch or you need to make a putt to win a hole.”
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Intl.) def. Kevin Kisner (U.S.), 2 and 1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout never let Kevin Kisner lead in this final match that didn’t see a birdie until the 6th hole (and only four more after that). Every time the American was able to square the match, Bezuidenhout was right there to respond and re-claim the lead.
Down the stretch the South African was nails, making birdie on Nos. 14 and 16 to take a 2-up lead which he carried to a 2-and-1 win. — Woodard
If the scene that unfolded Sunday on the first tee at Quail Hollow Club is any indication, Sammy Spieth is the next heir to the throne.
Shortly before beginning his Sunday singles match in the 2022 Presidents Cup against Cam Davis, Jordan Spieth walked out to big cheers from the home crowd as he walked over to his wife, Annie Spieth, and their son, Sammy.
Jordan grabbed his son and then turned him around and hoisted him to the crowd engulfing the first tee, bringing a loud cheer from the fans. Many quickly made the comparison to the movie “Lion King”, when Rafiki took Simba to the top of Pride Rock and held him up for all to see.
“It was fun to see him on the first tee,” Spieth told Golf Channel’s Steve Sands after his match. “That was super cool. He’s finally old enough to just be looking around and taking it all in and being interested in everything. He loves the ear muffs luckily because it has been loud out here.”
Spieth beat Cam Davis 4 and 3 in singles, becoming the first U.S. player to go 5-0-0 in Presidents Cup play since Jim Furyk in 2011.
