CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | It is a small thing – a gold shield set upon a black background usually – but to the International team in the Presidents Cup, it’s a badge of honor courtesy of Ernie Els.
In the Internationals’ near-empty history in the Presidents Cup, the one thing it has needed almost as much as a victory (it has one win in 13 tries) is an identity.
Something to rally around. To feel a part of. To represent.
It was created by Els, who captained the 2019 International team with a piercing focus on creating a team that exists for more than one week every two years.
The American side has the benefit of being from the same country and all of the red, white and blue and stars and stripes variations imaginable.
The Internationals – this year from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, South Africa and South Korea – not only come from different corners of the world, they often speak different languages.
But losing is universal.
Something as simple as a logo and black and gold team colors may not change outcomes, but they provide a starting point for a team that has gotten tired of starting over every two years.
“I think the shield is pretty important. I think it was often hard for us to sort of have an identity, bringing so many different cultures together in the same place,” vice-captain Geoff Ogilvy said.
“The first year (2019) was great. This is the second time. It’s more and more recognizable. People are starting to buy the merch. Kids growing up in the world look at that and think, ‘I want that on my shirt one day,’ and that’s really powerful. You might underestimate that, but that’s a really powerful thing. We represent the rest of the world. That’s a lot of people.”
“The chatter and the communication used to start the week before the tournament, like 10 Presidents Cups ago, eight Presidents Cups ago. (Now) it never stops. It’s just got such a strong identity now, and it’s only getting stronger.” – Geoff Ogilvy
Unlike the U.S. side which plays the more intense Ryder Cup in years the Presidents Cup isn’t played, the International side doesn’t have the advantage of building its culture and camaraderie every 12 months.
It took years of getting beat by the Europeans in the Ryder Cup for the American side to develop an operational structure that ended the hopscotching styles and approaches adopted by a new captain every two years. The Ryder Cup task force was easy to ridicule, but it created a sense of continuity that has produced two wins in the last three matches.
It’s no coincidence that next year’s Ryder Cup captain, Zach Johnson, is back for a second term as vice-captain on the Presidents Cup team. It’s all about familiarity and experience.
International vice-captain Mike Weir figures to step into Immelman’s role in two years when the Presidents Cup goes to Montreal and Ogilvy is in the pipeline for down the road.
Els’ International shield is now a presence at the Presidents Cup, from cheering fans in 2019 to the Quail Hollow merchandise center this year. (Click on images to enlarge.)
What Els created, both big and small, may not overcome the Americans’ edge in talent this week, but it’s part of a foundation intended to last beyond this week.It’s not like 2000 when Weir played his first Presidents Cup, long before analytics were a golf thing.
“The captains said, ‘You guys look good together; let’s go out there,’ ” Weir said.
Els instilled the importance of communication and living it for more than the week of the competition.
“The chatter and the communication used to start the week before the tournament, like 10 Presidents Cups ago, eight Presidents Cups ago. (Now) it never stops,” Ogilvy said.
“It’s just got such a strong identity now, and it’s only getting stronger.”
Earlier this month, the bulk of the International team gathered in Charlotte for two days, playing practice rounds at Quail Hollow and getting to know one another better. It’s one thing to play tournament golf week after week against familiar players, but it’s something else to play for one another.
“There were matches. There were trophies up for grabs. It was really just to be prepared for this week. As much as it was for the guys to bond and it was fun to have a couple dinners together and laugh over some of the shots and some of the stories of the past, have a few questions thrown around, it was nice to treat this tournament like the big event it is,” Adam Scott said.
What did Scott learn?
“K.H. Lee won every trophy there was up for grabs … there was at least two. He won two for sure. He might have won the cash, as well.”
No player knows the frustration of the Internationals’ history in the Presidents Cup better than Scott. This is his 10th Presidents Cup team, and after being part of a tie in South Africa in his first event, Scott has been on eight consecutive losing teams.
“Our struggles have been fairly well aired over the years or documented. I think everyone becomes very invested at some point in the week. As individual competitors, we don’t like losing,” Scott said.
“I think it has stung a lot. It’s been frustrating a lot. The close calls really sting. The couple times we’ve really been thumped is very, very frustrating, and I think in saying all that, I’m the only one carrying any real baggage into this one.
“I think there was a clear line in the sand drawn for ’19 in our team. Things looked good there. I want it to continue here. I don’t see why it shouldn’t. I feel very confident in everything that’s happened.”