“That’s disrespectful in my opinion,” said an unimpressed Paul McGinley. Confused? Well, he was alluding to when Tom Kim and Sungjae Im vacated the 8th hole to walk away to the tee box on the 9th. That too, they did before Scottie Scheffler finished his shot on the par-4 greens. But if you think that was all the South Korean golfers did, then you’re sorely wrong. Kim’s antics didn’t stop at that but included a whole lot of other stuff as well, “fist-pumping and whatever,” as pointed out by a reporter. Suffice it to say, Mike Weir wasn’t impressed!

The 54-year-old skipper of the International team was spotted in an interview following his team’s first-day defeat to the Americans in the Thursday Four-balls. And when asked about Tom Kim’s actions on the course and whether he’d prefer that, Weir made sure to express how he would rather not witness that kind of showmanship. “Not necessarily,” replied the veteran golfer before emphasizing, “I want them to be themselves.”

Quite an unfortunate situation for Kim, seeing as how his captain isn’t that impressed with him. Well, there’s more. “In my day, I wasn’t that type of player,” recounted Weir as he expressed what he wanted from the team. “We have guys that are more reserved. We have guys that are a little more outgoing. You want them to be themselves, not be something they’re not.”

Feel like Tom Kim got off easy? Not even close. For Weir made sure to call him out alongside a fellow International team squad mate. “Guys like Tom and Min Woo and a number of other guys on our team like to get the crowd going,” said the captain as he re-emphasized how he wants the golfers to be themselves. “But it’s got to be authentic. We don’t want guys to do something they’re not comfortable with. These are grown men. They know what they’re doing out there.”

The result? Well, the skipper announced the pairings for the second round of golf on Friday, for the Foursome matches. And it appears only the likes of Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee are sitting out from the day’s action at the Presidents Cup. Quite a bold move by Mike Weir, in hopes of countering the “fantastic” round that the Jim Furyk-led American team dished out.

Mike Weir comes out candid on the first day of play at the Presidents Cup

“I saw great energy out there amongst our guys,” divulged the 54-year-old as he expressed his hope for the next day. “It didn’t go our way today, but the guys are positive,” said Weir. “I saw a lot of great things. The U.S. Team played fantastic today. Doesn’t mean we’re not going to do that tomorrow. The energy is good in our room.”

Well, he sure would hope for his team to come out victorious on the second day of play. The American team completely defeated the International squad 5-0 on the Thursday Fourballs. Moreover, the Tom Kim-Sungjae Im duo also lost to the Scottie Scheffler-Russel Henley duo, 3&2. Frustrated would have been an understatement for Mike Weir, but he seems to be holding on nicely. Regardless, they would expect to have a better day during the Foursomes.