Trevor Immelman, captain of the Internationals, scoffed off LIV commissioner Greg Norman’s well wishes on Friday after his President’s Cup team was completely destroyed by players who switched to the LIV Golf Series.
The United States took an 8-2 lead Friday after winning three four-ball (best ball) matches and tying two more to equal the largest two-session US advantage in Presidents Cup history.
“The result indicates that we must improve, which we will do. To put it simply, “said Immelman. “We’ll play as hard as we can the last two days.”
The Internationals were severely hampered when half of their best players switched from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-sponsored LIV Golf Series, disqualifying them from the Cup.
Australian Cam Smith, the champion of the British Open, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, and Australia’s Marc Leishman were among those who abandoned the international team.
Eight of the first ten matches have seen the Internationals push the Americans to the 17th hole, leaving their fans to ponder what impact a complete roster may have made.
Thus, it was intriguing when Norman tweeted a message to the team he had helped weaken, giving the US team, which had 10 of the top 16 players in the world, a significant advantage over the rest of the world despite losing a number of highly-ranked players.
In spite of all this anxiety, Norman stated that “golf is golf and competition is competition; something every golfer thrives on.”
“I wish @TrevorImmelman & his whole squad the absolute best in replicating our lone 1998 @PresidentsCup triumph in Melbourne,” said the former player and captain of the International Team.
South African Immelman responded to Norman’s tweet on Friday with the three-letter phrase “LOL,” making it obvious that he was “laughing out loud” in response.
“I’m a really honest and open person. I very much express what I’m thinking “said Immelman. “When I saw that tweet, I was doing precisely what I just mentioned. I started laughing aloud.
“I’ve known for a long time that lying may be harmful since it requires strong recall. I would thus choose to be honest.”
His comments came after the Internationals had another terrible start—they had only held the lead for one hole in one match on the front nine on each of the first two days—followed by back-nine comebacks that failed.
“We go forward. We’re going to attempt to hold onto optimism till it’s finished, “Mito Pereira of Chile stated.
“You must put up a fierce battle every day. It’s not simple. They putt often. It will be close if we can sink a few putts over the next two days.”
Spirit is still strong.
The team is not hanging their heads, according to South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who joined Pereira in a tie on Friday.
Overall, the team’s spirit is still strong, and we’re prepared to continue the struggle, the player said.
“This week, everyone anticipated a breeze over us, yet the majority of the games were close throughout. We’re fighting back hard against the powerful US side.”
Hopefully, we can change the course of events tomorrow and shift the tide in our favour.
Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, who shared a tie with Im Sung-jae, referred to Saturday as “make or break.”
For Sunday, we must stay in contact, he remarked. And we have a sizable distance to close.
By earning 7.5 points in Saturday’s eight matches, the Americans might clinch before Sunday’s 12 singles matchups.
After his 10th Cup participation, Australian Adam Scott seemed to have little chance of winning.
Scott stated, “All the losses are hard to take.” “Just two days of being on the back foot. Thus, it has been difficult.
“All you can hope for is to see the fight there in everyone, to draw (the matches) out and make them truly work for it.”