International captain Greg Norman, 54, owns plenty of Presidents Cup playing experience. He was once teammates with five of the current International team members.
Oct. 7, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM
Though the Presidents Cup didn't debut until the middle of his career, International Team Captain Greg Norman is one of the most experienced Australian national team players of all time. Norman made the first four Presidents Cup teams late in his career, compiling a 7-6-1 record, and also played in 10 Dunhill Cups, two Nissan Cups, the 1982 Hennessy Cognac Cup, the 1987 Kirin Cup and the 1989 Four Tours Championship.
Norman is the fourth captain in International Team history, succeeding David Graham (1994), Peter Thomson (1996, 1998, 2000) and Gary Player (2003, 2005, 2007). His assistant captain is New Zealand's Frank Nobilo.
For more on Norman, check out his captain's bio. Read here.
| What they're saying |
| Presidents Cup players weigh in on Greg Norman as International captain |
| ADAM SCOTT: "It's almost more of an honor that he actually picked me than if I just played my way on and played under Greg as a captain. But I think for me and any other Aussie on that team, it's pretty much a dream come true. We all grew up watching Greg in Australia and what he did for the game down there and the game around the world. He's been a great ambassador for the game. So I think he'll be a great captain as well. I think he's going to bring something different to the Presidents Cup this year than we've had in the last few years, which happens with every new captain, and I think the guys are really excited." |
| "When Greg takes charge of something or gets involved with anything, you know, he does it 110 percent. I'm not saying that other captains didn't do that, but he grabs the bull by the horns, and he's going to get in there, and I reckon he'd play the shots for us if he could. You know he wants it just as bad as all of us players do. I think some of his passion for the event certainly will rub off on us." |
| "He's one of the most intense competitors the game's had, so I think that'll be good to rub off on all of us out there." |
| ERNIE ELS: "He was very intense when we played [together at the 1996, 1998 and 2000 Presidents Cups]. He was world No. 1 or close to world No. 1. He was very professional, and he embraced the team. He wasn't off on his own. He was in the team kind of talk and in the spirit of things, let me put it that way. He was that kind of a guy. And there's enough Aussies on this team so he can feel comfortable again." |
| GEOFF OGILVY: "He's really hands-on, and he's really excited. He's asked for everyone's input. He has his own ideas about what's going to go on so if anything doesn't work out with Greg, it's not for lack of effort. He really is enthusiastic about it, and he's going to be right behind everything. |
| RYO ISHIKAWA: "About ten years ago, I watched Mr. Norman play on TV, and that was probably the first time I watched and that was kind of when I started playing golf, also. So that kind of leaves an impression on my mind. But in 2008, the British Open, even though it was in the middle of the night for us in Japan, I watched Mr. Norman play every day of the tournament. But to have a player like him pick me into this Presidents Cup event, I'm very honored and very excited." |
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