Trevor Immelman to captain International Team at 2021 Presidents Cup

PONTE VEDRA, FL (Aprtil 7, 2020): Presidents Cup and PGA TOUR officials today announced South African and Masters champion Trevor Immelman has been named captain of the International Team for the 2021 Presidents Cup, which will be staged at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The U.S. captain will be announced at a later date.

Immelman served as a captain’s assistant under fellow countryman Ernie Els at the 2019 Presidents Cup, which saw the International Team build its biggest lead in Presidents Cup history before falling to a Tiger Woods-led U.S. Team, 16-14, at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, in Melbourne, Australia.

“Our 2005 captain, Gary Player, took me as a captain’s pick which enabled me to play in my first Presidents Cup and it is an experience I’ll never forget as a 25-year-old. I later was able to get my first PGA TOUR victory shortly after in 2006, so you could say the Presidents Cup was a huge part of launching my PGA TOUR career. Being a captain now is an amazing honor,” Immelman said. “The Presidents Cup and the PGA TOUR have been a massive part of my career, and so for me to now lead the International Team is something that is going to be one of the highlights of my career and something that I can’t wait for.”

Immelman is a two-time Presidents Cup competitor (2005, 2007) and owns two PGA TOUR titles and 11 worldwide victories including the 2008 Masters Tournament.

“The International Team is gaining a driven, passionate and affable new leader in Trevor Immelman,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Trevor is universally respected in the world of golf, and he will receive immense support as he navigates this new and exciting challenge. His love for the game and the Presidents Cup made him an ideal captain’s assistant for Ernie Els in 2019, and I know Trevor is eager to build on the momentum that Ernie and the International Team generated at Royal Melbourne this past December.”

Immelman is the seventh International Team Captain (Ernie Els – 2019; Nick Price – 2017, 2015, 2013; Greg Norman – 2011, 2009; Gary Player – 2007, 2005, 2003; Peter Thomson– 2000, 1998, 1996; David Graham – 1994) and third South African to helm the Internationals, joining Els and Player. Immelman, who will be 41 years old at the time of the competition, will be the youngest International Team Captain in Presidents Cup history.

“I think it will add a slightly different dynamic being the youngest captain in Presidents Cup history. That trend really started in Melbourne, with two young captains who were still competing in their own right in Tiger and Ernie,” Immelman said. “I imagine our team will eventually be a combination of guys that I have played alongside over the years and younger players that I’ve followed and studied due to my broadcasting career. I know that our team will come together as one unit, have a blast and give it our absolute best.”

In 2017, Immelman had his first experience as a captain during the first Junior Presidents Cup, where he led the International Team in the new junior competition at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey, just days prior to the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National.

Immelman then served as one of four captain’s assistants for Els at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne alongside K.J. Choi, Geoff Ogilvy and Mike Weir.

“My relationship with Trevor goes way back and I have always had the utmost respect for him as a player and a person,” Els said. “Trevor was an invaluable member of our team and completely bought into what we were trying to do at Royal Melbourne, so it is gratifying to see him take this next step and lead the International Team.”

Immelman will look to maintain the momentum following Els’ captaincy.

“[Ernie] just found a way to make all the right moves once we got down to Australia, to make guys feel comfortable in the team environment and comfortable in their own skin to where they could really go out there and compete,” Immelman said. “And he gave our team an identity, maybe for the first time in the history of the Presidents Cup. I think that is going to be his legacy moving forward, and it’ll be up to me and the rest of our leadership team in years to come to continue from that platform.”

That momentum may continue building behind the strength of Canada’s Adam Hadwin, who earned one of Els’ four captain’s picks in 2019. It was his second consecutive Presidents Cup, after first appearing at the 2017 rendition at Liberty National Golf Club.

“I look forward to getting back into another International Team and to represent Canada obviously will be very special again. For us to be able to continue the momentum that Ernie built and to play under Trevor, it adds to the excitement,” Hadwin said. “Since being on my first team in New York (in 2017), I’ve made it a priority to get back on these teams every time. It’s just an amazing week with everybody.

“I know Trevor is going to continue with everything that Ernie has put in place and he’s going to be a fantastic captain and I look forward to being on that team under his leadership,” he continued. “Throughout his illustrious career, Trevor has proven to be a cool, calm but fierce competitor and I believe these attributes will serve his captaincy and our team very well. He has been involved in the Presidents Cup as a player and served as one of Ernie’s assistants and I can see him using these experiences to great effect in our ambition to win the Presidents Cup when we head to Quail Hollow Club.”