No quit in Internationals at Presidents Cup

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It was a death stare that Tiger Woods in his prime would’ve been proud of. International Team Captain Trevor Immelman’s focus was laser-like as he looked down the barrel at members of the assembled media, his passion literally dripping from his eyes.

He’d just watched his 12 “warriors” give their all against what some consider another of the greatest U.S. Teams ever assembled. Starting the Sunday Singles down 11-7, the Internationals came out firing and while they were the underdogs in 11 of the 12 matches, all but three of them held a lead at some point. One of those three got level despite being 3-down through 11 holes.

Ultimately, they lost the Presidents Cup, 17.5-12.5, but it wasn’t the surrender many predicted prior to the two teams landing at Quail Hollow. This was the team some assessed as the weakest International squad ever assembled. There were suggestions in the leadup to reshape the competition or change it to a mixed event. Those intensified when the U.S. Team led 8-2 through two rounds. But frankly that’s an insult to the black-and-gold team which refused to fade even when scarce few believed in them.

"We were in a tough spot on Friday. We showed a lot of guts to fight back. At some point this afternoon, I thought there was still a chance. This team is no joke, and I'm sick and tired of it being spoken of as a joke,” Immelman stated firmly in the aftermath of a five-point defeat to the U.S. Team.

“It's an extremely, extremely tight locker room. They were fighting. Man, they were fighting. I hope fans out there really do appreciate. These guys have got massive hearts. Massive hearts. And I'll go to battle with them any day.”

There was indeed a chance of a miracle. The projected scores got as tight as 16-14 at one point with a few matches tied at the time. Just a hole or two away from really scaring the Americans.

Immelman claimed he wasn’t surprised. That’s because the faith and pride in the International shield and colors, born in 2019, was palpable. All week the primal screams from the likes of Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim and Cam Davis plus the emotion in the voices and welling tears in the eyes of Immelman and veteran Adam Scott spoke volumes.

Those looking to change the format of the Presidents Cup clearly haven’t been close to this team. They clearly haven’t seen the hugs, cheers and smiles in the team room. And they clearly don’t see that not all metrics should be based on the scorecard.

One could argue Immelman was dealt the toughest hand of all since the competition began in 1994, yet his underdog squad fought tooth and nail for him, themselves and most importantly, for that International shield.

It is that new identity that is taking hold. After years of playing as a bunch of small cliques from nations who usually have little in common, Ernie Els drew a line in the sand in 2019 with the creation of one banner to believe in. Pairings were no longer based on friendships or requests – rather, on analytics – so the bond of the players had to be tight or disaster loomed.

With Els’ senior players and assistants driving the belief in the system, the proof was in the pudding as they led 10-8 going into Singles, the first lead at that point since 2003. Only a stirring fightback from the U.S. stopped a famous win and while the 16-14 loss was tough to swallow, the new ethos had been born.

That team spirit continued in North Carolina under Immelman, who was an assistant to Els and who brought back the same team of Geoff Ogilvy, K.J. Choi and Mike Weir and added Camilo Villegas to those in charge. This despite the momentum being stunted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of several top players. It left him with eight rookies.

“I definitely feel like Ernie and Trevor have laid some serious foundations for the future to the betterment of the Presidents Cup, to make this team formidable,” veteran Scott said after his 10th appearance.

“This was a very young team … but this was the start of guys getting bred into our team. There were eight rookies who Trevor prepared very well. Trevor played everything great this week and to be brutally honest, we underperformed the first two days.”

Scott, who himself failed to fire early in the competition, said being new to the environment can certainly be tough. But he sees big things on the horizon.

“I think the rookies are quick learners, and they got it,” he said. “And I really hope that they'll reflect and then they'll be driven to make the next team because if we can get some repeat offenders in here for the next few years, the International team looks really strong and it'll be a lot of fun for everybody watching.

“This team's got plenty of heart, and that's thanks to everything Trevor's put in the last couple years. He's bled for this shield that we now talk about, and it's just the beginning for this team.

“You're seeing a lot of guys here who will be returning on the next one. If they don't, they will have tried their ass off to get on this team. And the week when they put it together and they've got the heart, I think the U.S. Team's really going to be up for a hell of a fight.”

Other than Scott, the team was 31 or younger, seven in their 20s. Tom Kim is just 20 and showed freakish talent on his way to a 2-3 record. Si Woo Kim, 27, found his groove to lead the points earning at 3-1-0 and Sebastian Munoz, 29, was brilliant Sunday in beating world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler to finish undefeated with a 2-0-1 record. Sungjae Im (2-2-1) is still only 24.

“We have a system that we like and a plan and a strategy, and it feels like this was an important week for us just to just lay a couple more bricks in this house that we're trying to build,” Immelman added.

“We're here for the long run in this event. We're going to win this event. So we'll keep building. We'll keep fighting. At some point, we're going to win.”