'It's Actually A Little Offensive To Us' - Trevor Immelman Hits Back At Presidents Cup Critics
The former Internationals captain doesn't believe changes need to be made to the Presidents Cup
Trevor Immelman has defended the Presidents Cup.
The biennial match sees a team of non-European International players take on the US, with the 2026 edition to be held at Medinah between September 24th and 27th.
South African Immelman played for the Internationals in 2005 and 2007, while he was also the captain of the team at the 2022 edition at Quail Hollow.
However, he was on the losing side on each of those occasions, a common theme throughout the history of the contest.
Indeed, since the Presidents Cup began in 1994, the Internationals have won just once, in 1998 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, with one tie, which came in 2003 in Immelman’s homeland.
The Internationals have won the Presidents Cup once, in 1998
That has led to criticism that the Presidents Cup is not competitive enough, but regardless, Immelman rejects the idea that something needs to change to make it a more even contest.
Immelman, whose team lost 17.5-12.5 to the US four years ago, gave his opinions to the 5 Clubs Golf podcast, saying: “Frankly, I get a little bit irritated when I read on social media or in articles about people saying that the Presidents Cup should change its format, it should do something different, it should get blown up. You know, it’s actually a little offensive to us.
“We love this event. We are passionate about this event. We love our team, we want to win this event. We love the opportunity of being able to play against the Americans, so that’s something that always kind of gets under my skin a little bit.”
Immelman is also an assistant captain to Geoff Ogilvy in 2026, but it’s not the first time he has held the position.
He was also an assistant captain two years ago, while another occasion came in 2019, when Ernie Els led the team. Els’ tenure was seen as a breakthrough moment as he introduced a new brand identity to the Internationals, including a team shield.
That appeared to help galvanize the team. However, despite running their opponents close, the Internationals still suffered a 16-14 defeat to the Americans.
There have been other encouraging moments in recent years, too, not least in 2024 at Royal Montreal.
On that occasion, the Internationals fought back from a 5-0 deficit on day one to draw level with a clean sweep in the Friday foursomes matches.
However, there was a familiar ending, with the US recovering to close out a comprehensive 18.5-11.5 victory.
Trevor Immelman was an assistant captain in 2024
Despite the struggles faced by the Internationals through the years, Immelman's comments suggest that, rather than changing the Presidents Cup to make it more competitive, finding a way to beat the US with its current format would be the ideal scenario.
That’s something he’ll be hoping to help Ogilvy mastermind when the two teams go head-to-head for the 16th time at Medinah later this month.
