International Golfers Gunning For U.S. Team With Norman, Price And Els Aboard, Presidents Cup Should Be Competitive

The first Presidents Cup was thrown together with the haste that often happens when two powerful forces are trying to outmaneuver each other. And it showed.

Moving quickly, the PGA Tour won its tussle with sports power International Management Group and in 1994 put on the Ryder Cup-style team competition for those players from countries not eligible for the Ryder Cup.

Finally, Greg Norman, Nick Price and Ernie Els had an international stage on which to strut, just like Europeans Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer.

But haste made waste. The best players weren’t there in 1994 and a golf world that had little time to adjust to the idea of the event took little notice of the competition.

Not so this time.

When play begins Friday, the International team will be much improved, and U.S. golf fans still stinging from the Ryder Cup loss to Europe last year are looking for the Americans to beat someone - anyone.

The International team that lost to the United States 20-12 in 1994 traded up significantly. Norman, Els and Jumbo Ozaki have replaced Bradley Hughes, Fulton Allem and Tsukasa Watanabe.

“We came here to give the American guys a good run for their money,” Els said Wednesday after practicing in an off-and-on rain at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

“In ‘94, both myself, Greg and Jumbo didn’t play,” Els said. “I think this year we have the best side we possibly could.”

The change has not gone unnoticed in the U.S. locker room.

“They go from having the 97th player in the world to having the No. 1 player in the world. That’s a big jump,” said Phil Mickelson, referring to Norman playing instead of Hughes.

“Anytime you get Greg Norman playing anything, you’ve got a good team,” Fred Couples said.

Indeed, the trio of Hughes, Allem and Watanabe lost 8-1/2 of the 12 points they contested in 1994. Flip that record to 8-3-1 and the International team would have won the Presidents Cup 17-15.

“We’ll win,” Norman said, “whether it’s this year or whether it’s next time.”

The haste with which the first Presidents Cup was thrown together created scheduling problems that made it impossible for Els and Ozaki to play. And Norman was forced to withdraw because of a stomach problem.

Finally, the hottest player in the world at the time, Nick Price, came into the event exhausted after a grueling year in which he won seven tournaments, including the British Open and the PGA Championship.

It was a bad time for the International team. They have come into this event with a burning desire to put that disappointment behind them.

Norman, Els, Vijay Singh and Steve Elkington met at the Tour Championship last October and plotted their strategy.

“We sat down and we said we had to field the best team,” Norman said. “If we field the best team, we’ll do it.”

In addition to Norman, Els, Ozaki, Price, Singh and Elkington, it has David Frost, Mark McNulty, Robert Allenby, Craig Parry, Peter Senior and Frank Nobilo.

On the U.S. team are Couples, Mickelson, Corey Pavin, Davis Love III, Tom Lehman, David Duval, Justin Leonard, Steve Stricker, Mark Brooks, Scott Hoch, Kenny Perry and Mark O’Meara.

Arnold Palmer is the captain of the U.S. team, and Peter Thomson, assisted by Ian Baker-Finch, runs the International squad.

And while IMG didn’t get to run the Presidents Cup, it still makes it presence felt. Eleven participants are IMG clients: Palmer, Duval and O’Meara for the Americans and Baker-Finch, Elkington, Frost, Nobilo, Parry, Senior, Singh and McNulty for the International team.