Ernie’s Presidents Cup Preview

26 Sep

I’ve been on eight Presidents Cup teams over the past 20 years, but my ninth feels very different, with me being one of the assistant captains and not a player.

I must say, though, I’m proud and excited to be a part of Nick Price’s team set-up, alongside fellow assistant captains Geoff Ogilvy, Tony Johnstone and Mike Weir. All of us have put a lot of thought and effort into this over the past 12 months and I’m looking forward to embracing what will be a whole new experience. As a player, all you have to do is get ready to play, but being on the captain’s team there’s a lot more on your plate, a lot more organising to do. It’s going to be a busy week.

Coming in here, the US team are favourites on paper. I saw that 11 of their 12 players were in Atlanta for the Tour Championship last week and they’ve had our number too many times in the history of this event. The golf ball doesn’t know history, though! We also have some great players on our team, some great young talent. They’ve all played well this year and, trust me, they are so fired-up for this week. I know that once you get in that team room and feel the vibe, that feeling of camaraderie and pulling together, you sense that anything is possible.

So obviously our team knows how to play golf. They’re all fine players in their own right and at the end of day they’re hitting the shots. But Nick, Mike, Tony, Geoff and myself…you know, we have a ton of experience and that can make a difference in weeks such as this. Our role is to motivate the players and help them play their best golf. Anything that we can do inside the team room, on or off the golf course, to help bring out the best in our 12 guys, we’ll do it. I always put a lot of energy into this tournament as a player and I’ll bring the same passion and drive to my new role as an assistant captain and, some day in the future, hopefully as a captain, too.

We arrived here at Liberty National on Sunday afternoon and the next couple of days are all about team meetings, getting the players out on the course, taking care of our designated ‘practice groups’ and trying out some pairings and so forth. Then the schedule is as follows: we’ve got the opening ceremony on Thursday lunchtime followed by the first round of five foursomes matches. Then on Friday we have five fourball matches. Saturday is a pretty intense day, with four foursomes matches in the morning and four fourball matches in the afternoon. Finally, on Sunday we’ve got the 12 singles matches and a closing ceremony.

We all know that momentum is key with these team competitions. In previous years, it’s fair to say that the Internationals made some slow starts on Thursday and Friday and then you’re under serious pressure, constantly playing catch-up. And when one team gets on a roll, it can be hard to turn that around, especially when you’re playing away from home. The US team will have the New York fans on their side and these guys can get pretty vocal out here, to say the least. So we need to make a fast start and try to get that all-important momentum on our side.

In total, there are 30 points available, so 15.5 is the magic winning number. We came so close in South Korea a couple of years ago and, even though I wasn’t there, the guys have said to me they could almost taste that winning feeling. I do think that’s given this whole team a boost. Yes it’s going to be very tough, but we know we can win this thing. Whatever happens, these Presidents Cup matches are always played in the right spirit, which is important. We want to showcase all the wonderful aspects of the game of golf and hopefully inspire people to play and enjoy the game.

No doubt that was part of the logic behind establishing a Junior Presidents Cup, which took place for the first time at Plainfield Country Club early this week. I congratulate the PGA TOUR and the American Junior Golf Association on this initiative, which gives young players a wonderful opportunity to experience the spirit, goodwill and camaraderie that is at the heart of team competition. They’ll remember this week for the rest of their lives and, who knows, we might see some of them on future Presidents Cup teams. As I write this, I don’t know the result. But well done to everyone involved, including honorary captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player and team captains David Toms and Trevor Immelman.

Okay, before we bring this week’s report to a close, I just want to say how nice it was that our Drive to SA Open series had paid a visit to my first course, Kempton Park. I have such great memories of my junior days there. I can remember playing with my grandfather. I also remember me and Nico Van Rensburg, who now runs the Drive to SA Open series, playing 36 holes in a day together. We’d spend ages trying to hit high-spinning wedges from 80 yards into 18, thrilled that we could get the ball to spin back off the green! Amazing how these memories have stuck in my mind. Good times. Anyway, I hear a great day was had by all. Unfortunately the golf club’s manager was struck down by flu and couldn’t make it, but his team Mike Sebaz and Chantelle, Steven and Ian, stepped up to the plate and made it a special day. Congrats to the winners Martin Thirlwell and Mac Brauw scoring 49 points.

Our next stop on the schedule was Fancourt. Thanks so much to Tyronne Jacobs and Grandslots for sponsoring the day; it’s good to have you guys on board. I see my dad and my brother Dirk played, and also my December holiday nemesis Chris Potgieter…no doubt getting his game sharp to try and take my money again! Thanks to Tyronne Farrell for your hard work and support as well. I saw some nice pictures and video sent to me during the night. Looks like Wim Pretorius (aka Neil Diamond) did a fantastic job. The winners with 51 points were Francois and Eugene Barnard, and they donated their spot in the Grand Finale for auction, with the proceeds going to Els for Autism South Africa. A nice touch, thank you.

On that note, remember, winners of each event on the Drive to SA Open schedule qualify to play in the Grand Finale at Highland Gate where there’s a chance to win a place in the SA Open Pro Am in January. There are still four events to play. For details, visit the website: http://www.ernieelscentre4autism.co.za/events.asp.

That’s it for now. Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.

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