Major champion criticises US Presidents Cup players' behaviour: "I'm going to pick on JT for a second"

Former PGA Championship winner turned Sky Sports golf pundit and analyst Rich Beem has criticised the behaviour of some players of the United States golf team at the Presidents Cup.

The United States eventually retained the Presidents Cup with a 17-13 victory over the International team at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, extending their winning run in the biennial contest to 11 successive editions.

But the Americans faced a serious challenge after the Internationals took a 10.5-7.5 lead into Sunday's singles, having won all five foursomes matches on Friday before maintaining their advantage in Saturday's matches.

The hosts produced a remarkable response on the final day, winning 9.5 of the 12 singles points to complete the comeback. 

Justin Thomas was among the Americans to win his match, beating Corey Conners 5&3, while rookie Jacob Bridgeman secured the decisive point with a one-hole victory over Min Woo Lee.

Beem, speaking after the tournament, questioned why some American players felt the need to encourage the Medinah crowd to react to their shots.

“The one thing that I found interesting, I don’t understand this, and this is an American comment, is that when we make a putt or we do something, every guy’s raising their hands,” he said on the Sky Sports Golf podcast.

"Didn't the putt just do that? You don't need to try and get the crowd involved. 

"If the crowd's not involved, you're not doing your job, that’s for darn sure."

Beem singled out Thomas, referring to an incident on Saturday when the American raised his arms towards the spectators after a wayward tee shot.

"I'm going to pick on Justin Thomas for a second," said Beem.

"He hits a tee shot almost out of bounds, literally almost out of bounds, and he's raising his arms up trying to get the crowd fired up.

"He goes over and whiffs the second shot left-handed and barely gets the other one back in the fairway. 

"You're waving your hands up in the air after almost hitting it out of bounds.”

Beem acknowledged Thomas' commitment to the United States cause, saying he knew the 2022 PGA Championship winner "bleeds red, white and blue", and stressed that he was making fun of the situation rather than personally attacking his compatriot.

But he maintained that American players should concentrate on their own performances rather than trying to manufacture a reaction from the galleries.

"Guys, you don't need to get the crowd involved," Beem said. 

"Get yourself involved, the crowd will follow."