Presidents Cup: how Ernie Els revived it

This may well turn out to be the best Presidents Cup ever. To do that, it has to surpass 2003 at Fancourt Country Club in George, South Africa.

And on both occasions, Ernie Els has been at the forefront.

They have called him the ‘Big Easy’ for as long as the South African has graced the fairways, so graceful, so seamless, so unruffled. Yet in this instance the looks can be deceiving. Geoff Ogilvy, his vice-captain this week, has recently noted exactly how competitive a beast that Els really is.

Internationals captain Ernie Els has pointed the Presidents Cup in the right direction.Credit: Getty Images

Example one was at Fancourt, where the USA and the International team tied at 17 points each, leaving the captains, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, to draw names from an envelope for a sudden death playoff. Nobody was surprised who came out of those envelopes; at the time, Woods and Els were No. 1 and No. 2 in the world.

Then, it seemed almost unfair on the combatants: for them to carry the weight of their whole teams where one mistake would undo them. But play they did, trading birdies and great putts for three playoff holes without flinching, until it grew dark, and the captains decided to share the cup (which was not part of the rules, incidentally).

In some ways, it was the making of the Presidents Cup, which was less than 10 years old at the time and struggling to find an identity.

Example two came when Els was named as captain of the International team for this year’s matches at Royal Melbourne.

Els decided if he was doing it, then he’d do it properly. Way back in June 2018, when the best players in the world – including many of the International team here this week – gathered at Shinnecock for the US Open, Els brought them for their first meeting.

He didn’t know exactly who would be in his team, but he had a fair idea. He asked them to practise together when they could, and asked for them to be paired together at tournaments. He found a way for the players from so many parts of the world to get to know each other and enjoy each other’s company, recapturing the spirit of 1998, when Peter Thomson’s team conjured the one and only International victory in this competition.

He brought Ogilvy, a Royal Melbourne devotee who lives on the boundary of the course, in for help, and drew on the Australians in the team for intellectual property on the famous, old course, with its contouring and quick greens. Ironically when he lost Jason Day, who does not have a great team golf record, it worked for him, because he was able to bring in the young Korean Ben An, who’s played well.

Ernie Els, left, and Tiger Woods, right, front the press. Credit: Getty Images

Louis Oosthuizen, one of the leaders of the International team, said Els was more intense as a captain than he was as a player. “It almost looks like he wants this more than when he's out there playing. You could see him; I love the passion. I think if you give him a club in his hand, he'll hit the shot for you,” he said.

Els has created an environment from which a monumental upset seems possible. And he looks and sounds like a father figure to his young team, just 29 years old on average, the youngest ever. “I can understand how my friends and family felt for so many years, when you're rooting for somebody, you really pull for them,” he said. “That's what I'm doing, like a relative … [a] parent this week.’’

It wasn’t hard for the players to follow him. Els, genial and sociable, is a legend of the game in his own right. He has been a long-time mentor figure for Adam Scott, for instance, because Scott has not forgotten how Els took him under his wing at Fancourt on Presidents Cup debut in 2003.

“You know, I think it's probably the most prepared -- well, definitely, on a team -- that I've been involved with,” said Oosthuizen, who has played brilliantly this week. “And for me, it's extra special to play for a guy like Ernie.”

Cameron Smith, the young Australian, said: “The team room's really happy. We're all going around giving each other high-fives, doing all the team stuff. It's great. I haven't been involved with one before, but just listening to these guys, it sounds like it's a pretty good mood.”

This is a triumph for the Internationals already. They may still lose but they’ve reinvigorated the Presidents Cup, made it look real.

There’s been some jousting to be the hero of the week among the players, and Royal Melbourne has been a superb venue. But maybe it’s Ernie Els, who hasn’t struck a ball.