TEEING OFF: BRENDAN JAMES
When the American team arrived in Melbourne for the Presidents Cup they were overwhelming favourites to win the trophy again.
Despite missing World No.1 Brooks Koepka through injury and having most of the team endure a 30-hour flight from the Bahamas, there was no denying that on paper the United States were going to win and for many it was a case of waiting to see how much they would win by.
The Internationals had only two players among the top 20 in the world ranking. The Tiger Woods-captained US had 10 players from the top 20, even without Koepka. Two of Woods’ picks, including himself, won major championships in 2019.
But the Internationals had Ernie Els. He pulled together a team representing nine different countries and inspired them to play great golf. In team meetings before and during the Cup he spoke of unity, loyalty and friendship. The debutantes like Sungjae Im and Joaquin Niemann hung off every word, while Cup veterans Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen could see that, for the first time in many years, a positive team culture was evolving.
Els put his heart and soul into the preparation and when the Americans overran the Internationals in the Sunday singles matches to claim the trophy again, this time 16 to 14, it gutted the big South African. Yet, he remained gracious and humble.
“If you compare our team on paper with other teams in other sport, you would have laughed us out of the building,” Els said. “But we gave it a hell of a go and we came mightily close to winning and upsetting one of the greatest golf teams of all time.”
Without Els at the helm I suspect the final result would have been more one-sided. Which is why he needs to be convinced to return as International Captain when the Presidents Cup heads back to the United States and Quail Hollow CC, North Carolina, in 2021.
At this stage, sadly, the best International Captain since Peter Thomson is unlikely to lead the team, according to Els’ assistant captain, Geoff Ogilvy.
“Everybody’s trying to convince Ernie to come back and he’s taking a bit of convincing,” Ogilvy told a press conference on the eve of the Vic Open. “Whether he’s captain or not, it (the captaincy) will probably come out of the guys who were there (at Royal Melbourne) and he’ll be involved anyway.”
Ogilvy went on to pay tribute to Els for giving the International team the belief they could beat the American juggernaut.
“If Ernie did anything, he left a legacy of really uniting the spirit of our team, you know, it was really impressive,” Ogilvy said. “And not surprising because he’s one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met, loves winning, really believes in kind of team golf in the southern hemisphere … taking on the Americans, so he really did a good job there.”
Perhaps Els’ other legacy will be a change to how the International team is assembled and how they prepare for the matches, creating a more level playing field come Cup time. The Big Easy took a swipe at the PGA Tour after the Cup loss saying the Internationals needed to have more control of their own destiny.
“I know it’s a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, okay, but to really be able to do what you need to do, you need to be almost a separate,” Els said. “You need to be away from the PGA Tour.
“I mean, I love these guys, they work for the Tour and all that, but to make our own rules, to get our own choices, to do our own thing, I mean, it’s hard to explain. But we need to be separate. That’s a long, long process. I don’t think it will happen very soon.
“But you know, the Ryder Cup works because of the Europeans do their own thing and the US do their own thing, you know, and its two groups that clash.”
Ogilvy added: “They (the PGA Tour) listened. There’s been a few meetings I know already about it. And it’s fair enough.”
Given the success of the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, and the whole Tiger v Ernie sub-plot, it would certainly be in the best interests of the PGA Tour to take some of Els’ views on board. It might just be the tipping point to get him to go around as captain again and inspire a much-needed International win for the future prosperity of the event.