Trevor Immelman On 'Disrespectful' Calls To Revamp Presidents Cup

Trevor Immelman helped his International team make a spirited fightback in the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow last month, but the US team still triumphed to leave the hosts with a 12-1-1 record since the biennial tournament began in 1994.

The one-sided nature of results has led to calls to revamp the tournament in the wake of the International team’s latest defeat. However, Immelman thinks those suggestions are disrespectful. Speaking on Claude Harmon III’s podcast, he said: “I’ve had to listen to that crap for two years now. People hitting me up on social media all the time telling me that they’ve gotta blow this thing up.

“I find it disrespectful on all accounts, to be extremely honest with you. I find it disrespectful to us as international golfers that are professional athletes that compete at the highest level week in and week out. We’re not scrubs. Are we as strong as the Americans? Doesn’t quite look like it right now. Have they kicked our butts in this event? They sure have. But there’s been some close calls, and so I find it disrespectful to us.”

One of the proposals is to include female players in future tournaments, but Immelman thinks that idea, in particular, should be a non-starter. He said: “I find it equally disrespectful to the women golfers. And here’s why: I don’t think women golfers need men to make them and their competitions relevant. Their competitions are already relevant. I sit down and watch every single shot of the Solheim Cup. Every single shot. It’s one of my favourite times of the year when that event goes on. I watched the US Women’s Open. I watched the Women’s British Open a few weeks ago when South African Ashleigh Buhai came down the stretch, almost coughed it up and won in the playoff at Muirfield, matching Ernie Els’ win at the Open at Muirfield.

“Women don’t need men to make them relevant in sport. My family and I were glued to the TV when Serena Williams played her last match at the US Open. She’s one of the greatest athletes to ever walk on the planet. So, I find it disrespectful on all accounts when people come with that opinion. I appreciate the fact that they may be trying to think outside the box, but they need to come up with something else.”

Immelman presided over an encouraging comeback at Quail Hollow as his inexperienced team – shorn of some players who’ve joined LIV Golf – came from 8-2 down after day two and in danger of allowing the US team an insurmountable lead going into the final round. In the end, they ran Davis Love’s team relatively close, missing out by 17.5 points to 12.5, and the South African is convinced it’s only a matter of time until they win the competition again.

He said: “Let’s leave the Presidents Cup and the International team alone, for now. And let us compete, and allow youngsters from Thailand and China and Japan and Korea and Australia and South Africa and Canada and all over South America, allow them to grow up with this as their goal, to be able to compete on this level, because we are eventually going to win this event, I promise you.”