01승부처마다 터지는 '김씨 형제들'의 시너지, 인터내셔널 팀 반격의 중심
이번 프레지던츠컵에서 인터내셔널 팀의 가장 강력한 동력은 단연 한국의 '김(Kim)씨' 선수들로부터 나오고 있다. 김주형(Tom Kim)과 김시우(Si Woo Kim)를 필두로 한 이들은 코스 위에서 독보적인 존재감을 과시하며 팀의 사기를 이끄는 핵심 엔진 역할을 톡톡히 해내고 있다.
특히 김주형의 폭발적인 열정과 김시우의 노련함이 결합된 이른바 'K-커넥션'은 중요한 승부처마다 승점을 따내며 미국 팀을 강하게 압박했다. 이들은 환상적인 콤비네이션으로 결정적인 퍼트를 성공시킨 뒤 뜨거운 세리머니를 선보이며 갤러리들의 찬사를 이끌어냈고, 이는 팀 전체의 분위기를 반전시키는 기폭제가 되었다.
현지 언론과 팬들은 이들의 활약을 'Kim connection'이라 명명하며 인터내셔널 팀이 우승컵을 향해 나아가는 데 있어 가장 믿음직한 무기로 평가하고 있다. 한국 선수 특유의 끈질긴 승부욕과 정교한 샷 감각은 남은 경기에서도 인터내셔널 팀의 성패를 가를 결정적인 변수가 될 전망이다.
02Original (English) — PGA TOUR
MEDINAH, Ill. – Call it the Kim connection.
Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim have become one of the International Team’s brightest spots in an otherwise familiar Presidents Cup landscape.
The fellow South Koreans teamed up Thursday for their fourth Presidents Cup match together and delivered again, defeating Patrick Cantlay and Chris Gotterup, 3 and 2, to improve to 3-1-0 as a partnership.
Their latest victory provided a much-needed point for an International Team that trails the U.S. Team 3-2 after the opening day at Medinah Country Club.
The challenge is daunting. The U.S. Team has won the last 10 editions and entered this week with a 13-1-1 overall record at the event. The International Team’s lone victory came in 1998, with the 2003 edition ending in a tie.
But if the International Team is going to change that history, it will need players capable of producing points when opportunities arise.
The Kims have shown they can do exactly that.
“They clearly enjoy each other's company, and they sort of thrive when they play with each other,” International Team Captain Geoff Ogilvy said Thursday. “I mean, they birdied the first two or three holes today. They just got off from where they took off last time.”
The captain was right: Thursday’s final Four-ball match started in the International Team’s favor and never really shifted.
Cantlay and Gotterup, playing together for the first time, battled back to tie the match on the sixth hole. But the Kims answered with a birdie at the par-3 seventh and steadily rebuilt their advantage.
They moved 3-up on No. 14, then nearly ended the match in spectacular fashion. From 165 yards on the par-3 16th, Tom Kim’s approach finished inches from the hole, leaving the Kims with a 3-and-2 victory.
“We don't want to leave the door open,” Tom Kim said afterward. “You really have to keep your foot down. I think that was kind of the mindset when we got a really good point with a par on 13, and then him making a bomb to go 3-up.
“We did a lot of good things late in the round to really give us a cushion. We never really let our guard down. We just kind of kept the foot on the gas. I would say relieved just to be able to finish without any stress.”
There is a comfort between the two that has been built over multiple Presidents Cups, high-pressure practice rounds and plenty of competitive matches.
“We know very well each other. Sometimes he helps me a lot, gives me a lot of confidence, and I think I give him a lot of confidence. I think that's why we’ve been like high-pressure ones,” Si Woo Kim said.
Tom Kim sees the same dynamic.
“We just do a really good job of when we lose momentum, I think we do a really good job of knowing how to pick it up. I think in moments where if I'm in trouble, he definitely has my back, and when he's in trouble, I've definitely got his back,” Tom Kim said. “There was a couple holes today when he was out of it that I feel like I stepped out and won the hole by myself, and when I was out, he was there and he stepped up and won the hole himself.”
The partnership dates to 2022, when the Kims defeated Xander Schauffele and Cantlay, 1-up, in Four-ball at Quail Hollow. They won again in Four-ball at Royal Montreal in 2024, beating Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark, 4 and 3, before losing to Schauffele and Cantlay, 1-up, in Foursomes later that day.
And while their on-course chemistry is obvious, the Kims have become something more for the International Team: a source of energy.
That was perhaps most evident in Montreal two years ago, when Si Woo Kim produced one of the Presidents Cup’s most memorable moments.
Trailing Schauffele and Cantlay by one with three holes to play, Si Woo Kim holed out from thick rough below the 16th green for birdie to square the match. He then sprinted around the green, mimicking Stephen Curry’s signature “Night, night” celebration. The moment became an instant Presidents Cup highlight, even though Cantlay eventually made a 17-foot birdie on the 18th to give the U.S. Team a 1-up victory.
Now the same pairing will get another shot at the same opponents Friday when they go out in the day’s final Foursomes pairings. The stakes are different this time, but the opportunity is familiar.
“I think first of all, I’ve got to help my team,” Si Woo Kim said Wednesday. “Even if I play four or five matches, I want to bring the team more than three and a half points for it to be helpful. I'm going to win as much as I can and try and help the team.”
Friday will be another chapter in a partnership that has already produced wins, heartbreak and one unforgettable celebration.
The International Team still has plenty of ground to cover. But with the Kims, it has been a pairing that has repeatedly shown it can handle the moment.
“I think it’s definitely better than last time. It was a brutal start last time," Si Woo Kim said of the Internationals' grim 0-5 start in 2024. "I think we did really well. We’re excited for tomorrow, and we’re excited for the rest of the tournament."