By Rahul Banerji
The Internationals team for the Presidents Cup took final shape on Thursday with captain Ernie Els making his final four picks, adding Sungjae Im (South Korea), Adam Hadwin (Canada), Joaquin Neimann (Chile) and Jason Day (Australia) to the eight already qualified members of his squad.
The 13th edition of the tournament that pits Els’ team against the Tiger Woods-led USA, will be played at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club from December 9 to 15. Woods will make his captain’s picks public on Friday.
For the first time, each captain got to make four picks instead of two. Els will lead the youngest International Team in Presidents Cup history, with the average age of his 12 players just over 29 years, the trend carrying on for for the fourth consecutive time.
This will also be the most diverse International team ever with players from Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Mexico and South Africa, China, Mexico, Chinese Taipei and Chile being represented for the first time.
Australia have four players who will compete in Melbourne in Day, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith. Sic players in all will make their debut in this competition.
Sungjae Im (South Korea)
Im (no. 11) continues a memorable rookie year on the PGA Tour with a Presidents Cup debut. The 21-year-old’s season was highlighted by 16 top-25 finishes in 35 starts, a trip to the Tour Championship as the only newbie in the field and earning the Arnold Palmer Award as tOUR Rookie of the Year.
Im continued his strong form into the early stages of the 2019-20 season with top-5 finishes at the Sanderson Farms Championship (2nd) and the ZOZO Championship (T3) to further convince Els that he deserved a place.
Im is one of five players in Presidents Cup history to compete before turning 22 years old, joining Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa (2009, 2011), Jordan Spieth (2013), Hideki Matsuyama (2013) and Niemann (2019).
“It has always been a dream of mine to make the Presidents Cup, so I’m so happy to have been chosen as a captain’s pick,” Im said.
“I really want to beat the US team. There were so many great players that could’ve been picked, so I’m really thankful that captain Els chose me.”
Joaquín Niemann (Chile)
Joaquín Niemann (no. 28) celebrates his 21st birthday on the day after being named to his first Presidents Cup team. The former world no. 1-ranked amateur will be the first player from Chile to compete in the Presidents Cup after becoming the country’s first PGA Tour winner with his victory at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier in September.
Niemann is the sixth from South America to qualify for the Presidents Cup, joining Carlos Franco (Paraguay/1998, 2000) Angel Cabrera (Argentina/2005, 2007, 2009, 2013), Emiliano Grillo (Argentina/2017), Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela/2017) and Camilo Villegas (Colombia/2009).
Niemann earned his PGA Tour card at 19 and enjoyed a successful first full season in 2018-19 that yielded four top-10 finishes in 28 starts. His win at the 2019-20 season opener was a coming-out party for the young talent, who turned a three-stroke 54-hole lead into a six-stroke victory with a final-round 64.
“I was really excited. I was looking forward to this week because I was going to get the call and didn’t know if I was going to make it or not and also because it is my birthday,” Niemann said.
“This is really big for my country and South America. Golf has been growing a lot in Chile and this is going to help those kids who are growing up and starting to play the game. I just can’t wait to get down to Australia and hopefully have a good week.”
“What a great kid. I want to call you kid, you’re my daughter’s age, but you played like a grown man this past season,” Els said to Niemann during a teleconference.
“Winning your first event on the PGA Tour as a Chilean player at the Greenbrier, that solidified you in my view.”
Jason Day (Australia)
Day (ninth in the standings) returns for his fifth consecutive Cup and first as a captain’s pick. The former world no. 1 has a 5-11-4 event record but has had success in match play on the PGA Tour with a 22-14-0 record and two victories (2014, 2016) in the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.
“I want to thank Ernie, to have the faith in me, and I’m looking forward to catching up with the whole team down in Australia,” Day said.
“Hopefully most of the team are at the Australian Open, as well, but it’s great to be able to get a captain’s pick and I’m looking forward to get down to Australia and play down there.”
“He’s won 12 times on the PGA Tour. He’s played in four Presidents Cups. He’s going to come down to Australia as a hometown hero,” Els said.
Adam Hadwin (Canada)
For Hadwin, it will be a second consecutive Cup appearance and a first as a captain’s pick. The 31-year-old ended the 2018-19 PGA Tour season with five top-10s and staked his claim after a runner-up finish at the Safeway Open and a tied fourth at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open this season.
“With this Presidents Cup approaching and me starting to play some good golf again, I was just hungry for a second chance,” Hadwin said.
“That’s not how I would like my contribution to the Presidents Cup to be remembered and I’m looking forward to having a second chance down at Royal Melbourne, a part of an incredible and hopefully we can right some of the wrongs that we’ve had in the past.”
Also read: Els adds Choi, Immelman, Weir as vice-captains for Presidents Cup
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