Els names rookies Im, Niemann in
Presidents Cup captain's picks
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[November 07, 2019]
By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The
Internationals will field six debutants at next month's Presidents
Cup, with Ernie Els naming rookies Im Sung-jae and Joaquin Niemann
among his captain's picks to take on Tiger Woods's United States at
Royal Melbourne.
South Korean Im, the PGA Tour's rookie of the year, and Niemann, the
first Chilean to play in the biennial event, join already qualified
debutants Abraham Ancer, C.T. Pan, Li Haotong and Cameron Smith.
Els rounded out his four captain's picks on Thursday with seasoned
Australian former world number one Jason Day and Canada's Adam
Hadwin, both members of the Internationals team trounced 19-11 at
Liberty National in 2017.
With the Internationals boasting only two players in the world top
20, Els's young outfit face a huge task to win the trophy for the
first time since 1998 against a powerful U.S. team captained by
Woods.
However, Els said he was confident his debutants would be ready for
the challenge at the Dec. 12-15 event, which pits an International
team representing the rest of the world minus Europe against the
Americans.
"We’ve got a lot to do but I’m thinking guys who make the team can
play," the South African told reporters on a conference call.
"I’m not here to hide anybody, I’m here to try to win enough points
to get the team over the line.
"Whether that’s playing rookies together, so be it ... In many
instances, this Cup will be an ice-breaker on a lot of fronts."
Im, 21, has yet to win a tournament on the PGA Tour but had a
consistent season featuring seven top-10s and he finished equal 19th
in the 2019 FedExCup standings.
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South Korea's Im Sung-jae on the 11th hole during the second round
REUTERS/Paul Childs/File Photo
Niemann became the first Chilean to win on the PGA Tour in
September, claiming a six-shot victory at the season-opening
Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia.
World number 44 Hadwin made his Presidents Cup debut in 2017 where
he finished with two defeats and halved one of his matches.
Day will play his fifth Presidents Cup and hope to improve on a
losing record of five wins, 11 defeats and four halved matches over
his career.
Woods will announce his four captain's picks for the United States
on Friday (0000 GMT).
He is expected to use one of the picks on himself and become the
first playing captain at the tournament since Hale Irwin led the
United States to a 20-12 win in the inaugural event in Virginia in
1994.
Els and the Internationals players welcomed the prospect of 15-times
major champion Woods returning to Royal Melbourne, where he rolled
in the winning putt in the 2011 tournament.
"If I had a chance to play him I think it’s going to give me more
excitement to win the match, more energy," said Niemann.
"I think it’s going to help me more to focus and try to beat him."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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