“Gonna be some book when this is all said and done…”
That was Trevor Immelman tweeting three days ago after reports broke that the International Presidents Cup captain was about to lose two of his automatic selections, world No. 2 Cameron Smith and world no. 19 Joaquin Niemann, as part of the latest batch of defections to LIV Golf.
On Tuesday, that news became official, as Smith and Niemann joined four others, including potential International captain’s picks Marc Leishman and Anirban Lahiri, in joining the Saudi-backed circuit ahead of its tournament this week in Boston. Once they tee it up, those players will be suspended from the PGA Tour, and thus the biennial matches.
Immelman’s potential squad had already taken earlier hits with LIV signing Abraham Ancer, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Carlos Ortiz earlier this year.
Still, the Sept. 22-25 international competition at Quail Hollow will go on, and Immelman’s squad, although currently a massive underdog (+500 according to PointsBet Sportsbook), will show up with 12 players ready to represent the Rest of the World.
Hideki Matsuyama reportedly declining a lucrative LIV offer and remaining with the Tour was huge news for Immelman, and the Japanese star and now five-time President Cupper will headline the International roster. Sungjae Im, who made his Cup debut in 2019 and went 3-1-1, is also on the team, as is fellow South Korean Tom Kim, the 20-year-old who won his first PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship earlier this summer.
Canadian Corey Conners is also set for his first Cup while Adam Scott has qualified for a 10thth International team. Mito Pereira was the final automatic qualifier, and although the rookie had been rumored to be joining LIV, it appears that such a decision, if it comes, would happen post-Cup.
Sources: Presidents Cup team members headed to LIV Golf
So, Immelman is now tasked with filling out his team with six captain’s picks. And there is no shortage of options, albeit not the crop of talent that he envisioned picking from when he first assumed the position.
Should he go chalk? South Korean KH Lee finished ninth in the points standings and will surely be one of Immelman’s selections. Behind him, South Africa’s Erik Van Rooyen is out with an injury, but he’s followed by Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz, Canada’s Adam Hadwin, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, Canada’s Mac Hughes and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
That would be the easiest thing to do, but it’s worth noting that Munoz has no top-10s since May, Hughes had missed four of his last five cuts, and Fox, though boasting four top-3s since the start of the summer, did all that damage on the DP World Tour and also missed weekends at both summer Opens.
Another strategy Immelman could consider is filling his lineup with elite putters. There’s no way his side can win a ball-striking contest with the Americans on a track like Quail Hollow, and with Smith and Leishman out of the fold, that’s two great putters you’re already having to replace if you’re Immelman.
Australian Lucas Herbert led the Tour in strokes gained putting last season while Bezuidenhout was sixth and Hughes 14th. Hadwin, who had top-10s at the US Open and The Players this year, is also historically deft with the flatstick.
A third approach would be going with young and exciting guys. With waning buzz surrounding this year’s event, why not take a chance on someone like Canadian Taylor Pendrith, who absolutely mashes the ball and has five top-15s, including a T-2 in Detroit, since returning from a fractured rib this summer. Or maybe there’s a spot for Carl Yuan, who won the Korn Ferry Tour’s regular-season points race this year and would give China its first Presidents Cup selection. Young Aussies Cam Davis and Min Woo Lee figure to make future teams as well, although only Davis’ form is currently good enough to legitimately garner Immelman’s attention.
With all that said, Immelman will undoubtedly have a bevy of resources available to him as he makes his picks, and he certainly doesn’t need the advice of a golf writer.
But if I were him, I’d go with these six: KH Lee, Hadwin, Bezuidenhout, Pendrith, Herbert and Yuan (I could be talked into Fox over Yuan). With these six, you add three great putters, some youth and overall, six guys in good form, while increasing the number of nations represented.
Sure, it’s not the prettiest lineup, but at this point, the Americans are already overwhelming favorites.
Now is as good a time as ever to go off script.
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