THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 26, 2024

Adam Scott

Taylor Pendrith

Tom Kim

Royal Montreal Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Adam Scott, Taylor Pendrith and Tom Kim to the interview room. Thanks for coming in today.

Adam, as the most tenured player up here, can you start with some thoughts on the day.

ADAM SCOTT: It obviously didn't go our way at all today. We're now in a really tough spot, but thankfully there's tomorrow.

We'll start working at chipping away over the next four sessions to get right back in this.

Q. Taylor, I was wondering if you could describe the 1st tee atmosphere a little bit. Obviously this is your second Presidents Cup, but being an home soil, how was that vibe, just the atmosphere for you early on in the day?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Yeah, I thought it was really cool. To feel the love of the home crowd being in Canada was really neat. We need to get louder, I think, the next few days here and really feel the home support.

But it was really cool to shake Wayne Gretzky's hand on the 1st tee and then hit my tee shot on home soil in front of the home crowd. It was a very cool experience.

Yeah, like Scotty said, we've got some work to do the next few days, and the leaderboard doesn't look great, so we've got to peck away and see what we can do.

Q. Tom, it seems like you and Scottie Scheffler had some chip during your match today. From your perspective what happened?

TOM KIM: Just he was being himself. That's how we play back at home, and I knew it was going to happen.

It's all fun. I made it on top of him, and he gave it to me, and I gave it to him back on the next hole. I don't shy away from him. He's a good friend. But at the same time, this week I don't like him. I want to beat him so bad, and I'm sure he feels the same way.

Those boys played great today, but definitely for our team it kind of felt like I played great, so being short kind of sucks. But we'll figure out a way.

Q. Is that part of the fun of this tournament, that you can be a little bit more expressive, play to the crowd a bit more?

TOM KIM: Absolutely, especially on our home soil. Definitely when the crowds are with us, it definitely helps when you can kind of get loud.

Like Taylor said, I think it was a little too quiet today being on home soil. I don't think the fans were really -- I wish they would have helped us out a bit more, especially being in Canada. I know how much they love golf.

I'm definitely expecting more crowds to be louder and for them to be on our side.

Q. Adam, how would you best describe your emotions right now? Is it frustration? Is it anger? Is it disappointment? How would you sum up how you're feeling right now?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I'm disappointed. I think Min Woo and I could have won that match today. It's disappointing that we didn't do just a little bit better.

I have a feeling the matches were closer than what the score indicates. Our guys are just going to have to lift a little bit. We're going to have to find another gear to beat a tough American team.

Like I said before, the best news is there's tomorrow for us. It's not over. We're going to have to come out, fight really hard, find that gear, win a session and get going in the right direction.

Q. Tom, I was just wondering, does it amplify your intensity level a little bit playing against a buddy in Scottie?

TOM KIM: You know, I'm obviously getting a lot of these questions, but really it doesn't matter who it is, whether Scottie or whoever it is on that team. My emotions and my love towards this team doesn't change. I'm fighting for not only myself -- it may look like I'm just a kid throwing fist pumps, but it's not, it's me throwing fist pumps for my team. I want my 11 other brothers on this team to know that I'm fighting really hard and I know that they're feeling the same way. I'm trying to bring energy to the team.

Obviously it looks like on TV there's a little bit of banter, but in all groups there are. This is how it works. I'm sure Ryder Cup is the same way and Presidents Cup, as well, it's just you're playing for more than yourself and you're bringing that energy.

Q. As one of the veterans on the team, do you think there's a message you can send to your teammates to tell them not to panic or to think this is already done? Is that kind of a responsibility you think you have?

ADAM SCOTT: I think they know that, and I know, like Tom said, that they're all fighters. We've fought our whole careers to get into this team. We've faced many challenges as pro golfers. This is another one coming.

They'll be ready. They know they're going to have to -- it's obvious what we have to do.

I don't think I have to say much, other than we just have to lift our level.

Q. Adam, you alluded to this a minute ago, I think, but as the matches unfolded, every one of them was really close, even coming down to the last couple holes. I'm wondering if that gives you any solace whatsoever. A couple of them got to 18. It wasn't like it was -- it looked like it could have gone either way for a while.

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, look, personally I've got to use the couple good shots and the putt that I made on 18 as positive momentum going forward this week. I think Ben An hit it close on 18, and he should use that when he was under the gun. Xander responded with an incredible shot.

You've got to use what you can out of this situation going forward. Like I said before, the score line looks rough, but I don't think there was that much difference in it today.

Q. Why did you and Sungjae walk off before Scottie putted on No. 8?

TOM KIM: We just were focusing on our game. I made a putt, and whether he made it or not wasn't going to make a difference. There was no reason to stay there and look at him putt. It doesn't help us at all. It wasn't trying to be cheap or do anything like that. We were focused on our own game.

I think that answer is pretty boring, but literally it was just I made a putt, and whatever happens happens.

Q. Taylor, I'm not sure, were you following what the scores were when you were on 17 and 18 because you were one of the last International Team in a position to earn a half a point or even a full point?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Yeah. I kind of looked at the leaderboard on 16, I think, and was asking the captains how we were doing all day. Me and Bez fought really hard, and we had a lot of chances coming down the stretch. He hit an unreal shot into 17 and thought we were going to flip them and have a chance on 18. Just the way it goes. He hit some unbelievable shots down the stretch, and the U.S. guys made a lot of putts.

But yeah, I was aware that we had a chance to get a half point when we teed off on 18, and I had a good look at it but wasn't able to hit that putt. That's just the way it goes.