Global outfit aim to break drought
IMMELMAN: STAGE TO SEE IF THEY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES
There’s a blowout expected this week at the Presidents Cup, but you wouldn’t know it listening to favoured Americans downplay their advantages and the Internationals talk of a stunning upset.
The United States boasts 12 of the world’s top 25 golfers, including top-ranked Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, for the team showdown that begins today at Quail Hollow.
The Internationals, who counter with five of the world’s top 30, lost half a squad with defections to the LIV Golf Series, including British Open winner Cameron Smith, the world No 3 from Australia.
They have eight rookies and a sense of nothing to lose, but it would be an epic shocker for them to defeat one of the best American line-ups ever assembled.
“That’s on paper. The games aren’t played on paper,” US captain Davis Love said. “We have a higher-ranked team, but I know a bunch of those young guys on their team and they’re going to come in with a chip on their shoulder and together.”
Internationals captain Trevor Immelman is counting on both.
“They will be ready come Thursday [today] because they’ve got something to prove,” Immelman said. “This is the stage to find out if you’ve got what it takes or not.
“There’s a magical amount of respect for the US team. We can see if we can match up with their skills. We can see how good we are.”
The Americans own an 11-1-1 edge in the all-time rivalry, taking the past eight from the global squad. Their only loss came at Melbourne in 1998.
“It has stung,” said 10th-time starter Adam Scott of the drought. “It has been frustrating.”
Past Masters winners Scott and Hideki Matsuyama and South Koreans Im sung-jae and Kim Si-woo are the only International players with Presidents Cup experience.
They are joined by rookies Kim Joo-hyung, Lee Kyoung-hoon, Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, Cameron Davis, Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. –