PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida: Even as he hoped to re-discover his form and make the President’s Cup team for 2021, Anirban Lahiri lauded the appointment of Trevor Immelmanas the Captain of the International Team for the 2021 Presidents Cup according to the Presidents Cup and the PGA TOUR officials today. Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion, from South Africa, was the Captain of the Junior President’s Cup team in 2017 and has also assisted the Captain as Vice-Captain at the President’s Cup in the past. Immelman played twice at the President’s Cup.
The 2021 Presidents Cup will be staged at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Lahiri, who featured in the Presidents Cup in 2015 and 2017, and became the first Indian player to do so, believes Immelman is the perfect candidate to lead the International Team next year.
“I think Trevor is a great choice for our next captain. I interacted with him a lot at Liberty National in 2017. He’s captained the Junior Presidents Cup as well and has been a valuable asset as a captain’s assistant to Ernie. I wish him the best of luck and I hope to be on his team and bring some points to the team,” said Lahiri.
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.
In 2017, Immelman had his first experience as a captain during the first-ever 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.
He added, “In 2005, I played in my first Presidents Cup under captain Gary Player, which was an experience as a 25-year-old, I will never forget. Shortly after, I earned my first PGA TOUR victory 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 honour,” 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 am extremely excited about.”
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.”
“I think it will add a slightly different dynamic being the youngest captain in Presidents Cup history, but that trend really started in Melbourne, with Tiger and Ernie, who were still competing in their own right,” Immelman said.
“My relationship with Trevor goes way back and I have always had the utmost respect for him as a player and a person,” said Ernie Els. “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 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, something we could grab on to. 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.”
Quail Hollow Club has hosted the Wells Fargo Championship since 2003 and brought the PGA Championship to Charlotte in 2017.
The U.S. Team captain will be announced at a later date.
