Golf Vic Vol 60 No 3 2019

Photography: : Presidents Cup On top of that, Els organised for some of them to play together in the tournament – the Zurich event is a teams’ competition featuring both foursomes and fourball – so they’d have some experience of the little-used alternate-shot format alongside a possible Presidents Cup partner. Hence Jason Day and Adam Scott joined forces in an all-Aussie pairing, along with two South African teams in Branden Grace and Justin Harding and Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, as well as the Korean pair of Si Woo Kim and Sangmoon Bae. “It got the guys used to playing a different format, playing together in foursomes and fourball,” Els explained. “It’s also a really good team building exercise; we’re all staying in the same hotel, we had a great dinner together on Tuesday night, drank a few glasses of wine! “It just helps break the ice, gets everyone familiar with each other before we get to Australia. There’s no science to it. It’s a natural process. We need to hang together as much as possible, play some practice rounds together, play events like this, it all helps get everyone bonding as team.” Scott and Day, the former world number ones, hardly set the world on fire, however, missing the cut. And that was reflective of an underwhelming performance by the International pairings, none of whom finished in the top 20. (Harding and Grace were sailing along beautifully, it should be said, until a final- round 80 brought them undone.) As well as being a social lubricant, Els said as captain he would draw on every piece of data and statistical information he had at his disposal to prepare his team for Royal Melbourne: “Absolutely, we’ll be using all the data analytics available to us. It’s kind of a no-stone-left-unturned approach. We look at all aspects of a player’s game – physical, mental, analytical – and throw it all together into the mix and see where we are.” So the message is clear. Els and his team of assistants, which includes Australian Geoff Ogilvy, are doing everything they can to end the Internationals’ miserable run of outs stretching back to the 17-17 draw in South Africa in 2003. “To be blunt, Ernie’s had enough,” Ogilvy said. “He’s one of the most competitive guys I’ve met and he’s got on the front foot and decided he wants to do something about this now – rather than when it’s too late. “So he organised the get-together in New Orleans and that’s started something; now the International players are seeking each other for practice rounds. They’ll get on WhatsApp or text messaging and get together whenever they can. “It’s always been an issue for as long as the Presidents Cup has been played – the Americans play with and against each other all the time, and play Ryder Cup in the alternate years, and the International team doesn’t. The language difficulties can often be a problem, too. “On the Sunday night after each Cup I’ve been involved in, we sit around and have a few beers and talk about how we can be better the next time. And I’ve always felt if we could go out and play another Presidents Cup the following week, we’d fare an awful lot better – because we’ve got to know each other and understand each other.” Even without these issues, International team captains have faced a gargantuan task to be competitive. At the start of June, US captain Tiger Woods could draw his entire 12-man team from the world top 20 while Els would need to go down to number 54 with only Day and Scott featuring in the top 20. But Ogilvy, a veteran of three Cups, said the International team was up for the challenge in December. Some recent rule changes will help their cause. Two Cups after the point total was reduced from 34 to 30, the 2019 Presidents Cup will feature a change in the required number of matches that a player must play before singles from two to just one. The selection process has also been tweaked, as the points cycle shrinks from two years to one and the number of captain’s picks grows from two to four – all changes that should benefit the Internationals who have a shallower talent pool than the Americans. “It's a huge, huge difference for us,” Els said. “Much more beneficial for us as a team.” Golf Victoria 31