Blog: On eve of matches, anticipation reaching fever pitch

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Editor's note: U.S. Captain Fred Couples and his International counterpart Greg Norman will be writing blogs periodically during 2011. You can read Norman's blog below. To read Couples' blog, click here.

Nov. 4, 2011

Hello everyone! It's certainly hard to believe, but it's time for our last of these updates as we are quite literally on the eve of The Presidents Cup 2011. By the time you are reading this, I will either be en route to Australia or already there to begin preparations.

First on the agenda is next week's Australian Open at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney. On a personal level, I'm most excited to return to competitive golf after a long layoff due to shoulder surgery back in February. It has been nearly a year since my last competitive rounds at the 2010 Franklin Templeton Shootout, and I can't wait to get the competitive juices flowing again. The week will also serve me well in my role as Captain of the International Team, as a number of my players are in the field. You can bet I will keep a keen eye on how Adam Scott, Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley and Robert Allenby perform this week. There are a number of players on the United States squad competing as well, along with Captain (Fred) Couples, so Australian golf fans are certainly in store for two great weeks of action.

Speaking of Adam Scott, I spoke to him earlier this week after he had a chance to spend Sunday and Monday at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club getting in some early work. He gave me a detailed report and it sounds like the venue is rounding into championship shape, and despite a good bit of rain this week, will be in peak condition for the competition. It's a wonderful test and I know it will be a most worthy venue for The Presidents Cup.

Like I'm sure many of you were, I was disappointed to learn this week that Michael Jordan will be unable to serve as a Captain's Assistant to Fred at The Presidents Cup due to his obligations with the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. He brought so much to Fred's team and the matches as a whole at Harding Park in 2009 and he will be sorely missed. That being said, I thought Fred's decision to appoint John Cook as a Captain's Assistant was most appropriate. John and I have been good friends for a long time, back to our days on TOUR beginning in the early 1980s, and I know he will be a valuable asset to Fred and his team.

I've been in constant contact with my own Captain's Assistants, Frank Nobilo and Tim Clark, over the last couple of weeks as we make our final preparations for The Presidents Cup. They have both been invaluable resources and I will continue to lean on them for their assistance and counsel as the matches draw closer.

With the matches now little more than a week away, the anticipation is truly reaching a fever pitch. After splitting my time this week focusing on my own game along with the performance of my players, I will fully switch to Captain's mode once we arrive in Melbourne.

It has been a pleasure keeping you abreast of the goings on over the last 12 months and sincerely hope you enjoy the world-class golf that will be on display at The Presidents Cup. All the best.

Oct. 3, 2011

Hello again! We're winding down these updates with The Presidents Cup less than two months away, but there is still a lot to touch on before we get to Royal Melbourne. The two teams were finalized last Tuesday when Fred and I made our captains' selections with Fred taking Tiger Woods and Bill Haas, while I selected Australians Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley. Both teams have a nice mix of veteran players and Presidents Cup "rookies," so I expect the matches to be extremely competitive.

When you look at the International squad, obviously the balance of my team is predominately Southern Hemisphere guys -- from South Africa and Australia. That was one of the main factors in selecting Robert and Aaron to the team. Robert's performances around Royal Melbourne over the years have been extraordinary. His love for the golf course is very, very much evident, not to mention the fact that he's a great team player. Robert has a lot of tenacity in these team competitions, and his spirit in the cabin with the other guys is infectious.

Baddeley

And when you look at my other pick -- Aaron -- it's actually an interesting way that came about. I put in a call to both Aaron and John Senden at the start of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. With The Presidents Cup being staged in Australia, I wanted to load up the team with as many Aussies as I possibly could, and they were the obvious two choices. I put Aaron and John both on notice that they were under scrutiny, that the way they performed in the TOUR Championship would be the determining factor on who got the final nod.

Aaron put in a tremendous performance there and had a chance of winning the golf tournament right up until the last hole. He played extremely well in Atlanta and has played really consistent golf for a few years now. So to bring him down to one of his favorite golf courses as a member of the International Team was a logical choice.

Now that the teams are settled, it's time for people to start speculating on who I'm going to pair together. You might think that it's automatic, but at the end of the day, I won't make any decisions until we get there. I want to have an open mind about the pairings when we get to Royal Melbourne; I need to have a chance to see how the golf course is playing, how the guys are playing, and then I'll make the final pairings decisions along with my Captain's Assistants Frank Nobilo and Tim Clark.

On a quick personal note, I'm just now enjoying practicing, which I haven't been able to do for the last 12 months. I'm going to be playing in the Australian Open the week before The Presidents Cup, which I'm very much looking forward to. I know a lot of the guys on both teams are playing the week before as a warm up, whether in Singapore, China or in Australia. No doubt they'll all be primed and ready for a great competition by the time we get to Melbourne.

I know my guys are excited. I've spoken to every single one of them and they can't wait for the week to get here. We've lost the Presidents Cup every year except one, and they are the most jacked up I have seen them on wanting to win the Cup back this time -- especially the Aussies, like me, who want to win it in our own backyard. It won't be long now! Until next time...

September 6, 2011

Hello everyone, time for another update from the International Presidents Cup Team now that we're closing in on things being finalized. There's a lot to get to since I last checked in. I had a very productive meeting at last month's PGA Championship with the 20 or so players that have a realistic shot of making the team. It was nice to get everyone together and talk Presidents Cup 2011, pick their brains about Royal Melbourne and make sure they're thinking about the competition, but above all to feel and sense their enthusiasm, which I might add was fantastic.

Only three weeks remain before the 10 automatic qualifiers for the team are determined, then another week before Fred and I make our Captains' selections, so it's down to crunch time for everyone involved. I have been following the proceedings closely over the past few weeks and I will continue to do so over the next several weeks. Regardless of what happens, I know we will have a well-prepared squad ready to compete come November.

One other note that came from our team meeting at the PGA Championship was the announcement that South African Tim Clark will serve as one of my Assistant Captains this year, along with Frank Nobilo. Tim has been a member of three International Presidents Cup Teams, including my first team in 2009, and he confided in me several weeks before the meeting that he would be unable to compete due to his medical dilemmas and impending surgery. Though I'm disappointed for Tim that he won't be able to participate as a player, I'm excited to have such a team-spirited individual help Frank and I in preparing the squad. I know Tim will bring tremendous enthusiasm to this role and will be an asset to our team in Australia.

One of the players I have been counting on as we approach The Presidents Cup and will be counting on heavily at Royal Melbourne is Australian Adam Scott, who is No. 2 in the standings. Adam has been so supportive behind the scenes to date, openly expressing his desire for the International team to WIN in Melbourne as he plays. He put together another solid performance at a major championship with a solo seventh at the PGA, fresh off his victory in Akron at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. I used one of my Captains' selections on Adam in 2009 because I know he is a team-minded player who meshes well with the other guys on the team. And while he certainly won't need a Captain's pick this time around, I know that he will be a huge asset to the International Team once again.

Our reigning Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel, also put together a solid week of work at the PGA, finishing T12. Charl, who is No. 3 in the current standings, has had a tremendous season, finishing among the top 16 in each of the four majors. To put together a year like that, playing primarily in the United States for the first time, is a testament to how mentally tough he is as a competitor. I look forward to having him on the team and getting to know him better over the coming months.

We've got a nice mix of players from all corners of the globe represented in the current top 10, which is great to see for an international competition like The Presidents Cup. A pair of Australians lead the way with Adam and young Jason Day (No. 1), which I know will excite the fans in Melbourne and all over Australia. Charl is joined in the top 10 by fellow South Africans Retief Goosen (No. 6), Ernie Els (No. 7) and Louis Oosthuizen (No. 10). The Pacific Rim is also well represented with three South Koreans in K.J. Choi (No. 4), Kyung-tae Kim (No. 5) and Y.E. Yang (No. 8), along with Japan's Ryo Ishikawa (No. 9) fighting for his second Presidents Cup berth.

I was encouraged to see a couple of Presidents Cup veterans play well at The Barclays. Fiji's Vijay Singh, who has competed on every International Team since the inception of The Presidents Cup in 1994, finished T3 and is now No. 13 in the standings, on the cusp of earning an automatic berth. Colombia's Camilo Villegas, a rookie on the 2009 Presidents Cup Team, carded a wonderful 65 in the final round of The Barclays to finish T6 and move to No. 19. They'll both need to continue their good form over the coming weeks of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, but it's a definite plus to see them trending in the right direction.

Despite the fact I'll need to make my Captains' selections in the next three weeks, I can honestly say I haven't given it too much thought as of yet. There is still enough time left for a lot of movement in that area of the standings, with players either playing their way in or playing their way out. You can bet over the next three weeks I'll be keeping a close eye on those players ranked between 12 and 25, but I won't make any decisions until the dust settles.

Time moves so fast these days and The Presidents Cup 2011 will be here before we know it. I was just down in Australia last month and I know people are so excited that November is just around the corner and the world's best will soon be in Melbourne. I'm ready to crank things up and get started. I look forward to checking in again soon after the teams are announced. Until then ...

August 1, 2011

Hello everyone, I'm excited to check in again with all of you and hope you've been enjoying the great golf we have been treated to this summer. I can't believe it's already the beginning of August and I will be meeting with my prospective team members in just two weeks at the PGA Championship. It seems the year has flown by and we will be in Australia for The Presidents Cup in just three and a half short months. I'm sure once we get all of the guys together in Atlanta it will really start to sink in how close the event truly is.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching last month's Open Championship at Royal St. George's. Congratulations to Darren Clarke, a well-deserving champion who I've known for a long time, on his wonderful play throughout the week. The Open Championship is always one of my favorite events, made even more special this year given I was fortunate enough to win the 1993 Open Championship at Royal St. George's. You never know what type of conditions you're going to encounter at The Open Championship and this year proved that to the extreme. A player's true colors always seem to come out in difficult conditions, so it was nice to see a couple of my potential team members, Charl Schwartzel and Y.E. Yang, battle the elements and finish T16. Both Charl and Y.E. continue to perform at a high level in major championships and I look forward to having them on my team in Melbourne. Charl seems a lock to make the team at No. 2 in the standings after winning at Augusta, finishing T9 at the U.S. Open and playing well again in Sandwich. At No. 9 in the standings, Y.E. will need to continue his solid play. He finished T3 at the U.S. Open, and I know he's focused on a strong finish to the season and competing in The Presidents Cup.

I need to commend another Korean, K.J. Choi, on his fine play at the AT&T National last month. K.J. is enjoying arguably his best year on TOUR with his victory at THE PLAYERS and runner-up finish in Philadelphia. He's such a wonderful striker of the golf ball, which will be a huge asset at Royal Melbourne, especially if the wind is up. At No. 3 in the standings, I'm confident K.J. will be with us in Melbourne.

It was also nice to see Australian Adam Scott produce another solid performance at AT&T National with a T3. I've known Adam for a long time and it's been fun to watch what a difference the long putter has made for him this year. He's played fine golf and I hope to see that continue through the PGA Championship, into the fall and at The Presidents Cup.

You can be sure I will be watching this week's World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational very closely and monitoring how potential International Team players perform. The competition for the final automatic spots on the team is extremely tight with veterans like Y.E. Yang (No. 9), Geoff Ogilvy (No. 11) and Robert Allenby (No. 12) vying for those spots with youngsters like Ryo Ishikawa (No. 13) and Aaron Baddeley (No. 15). All I can tell you is: stay tuned!

June 21, 2011

Hello everyone, it's been a couple of months since my last update, so there's a lot I want to catch all of you up on. From a personal standpoint, my rehabilitation and recovery from the second surgery on my left shoulder in February continues to progress well. With a lot of hard work, I feel the condition of my shoulder continues to improve and I hope to start playing more golf in the near future. During those months of rehabilitation, I was also able to focus a great deal on my business, traveling to Australia, China, Vietnam and Hawaii with a trip to London, Turkey, Oman and North Africa coming up in the near future.

While my business interests, travel schedule and shoulder rehabilitation have physically kept me away from the game, I've continued to watch the 2011 season unfold and monitor the progress and outstanding play of a number of potential International team members. With the second major championship of the season now in the books, the team is beginning to take shape, and I must say, I am very impressed with what I'm seeing to this point.

I know I'm looking back more than a month ago now, but what a solid, workmanlike performance by Korean K.J. Choi in winning THE PLAYERS Championship. K.J. has been so consistent this year and he's a player with great pedigree in The Presidents Cup as a member of the 2003 and 2007 International teams. I didn't have the opportunity to Captain K.J. in 2009, but at No. 3 in the International standings, I look forward to having him on the team come November.

Currently No. 1 in the International standings is young Australian Jason Day, and what a season he is putting together. After his runner-up performance at the Masters, Jason performed admirably in defending his title at the HP Byron Nelson Championship at the end of last month, finishing 5th. He collected his second consecutive runner-up finish in a major last week at Congressional with a performance that would win most U.S. Opens. I know he, like all of the Australians in the standings, are really focused on making the team and playing in front of our home fans. I know he will be a tremendous asset to the team.

Speaking of last week, another Korean, Y.E. Yang, played in the final group both Saturday and Sunday and battled with Jason Day for runner-up honors at the U.S. Open. Y.E. has quietly moved into the top 10 in the standings at No. 9, which is a welcome sign after performing so well at Harding Park in 2009. Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and reigning British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, both of South Africa, also produced top 10s at Congressional, finishing T9. At No. 2 and No. 7 in the standings, respectively, I look forward to welcoming them both as Presidents Cup rookies in November. And some pair of rookies they are! Any captain would be a very proud captain having them on his team as "rookies."

It was nice to see veteran Presidents Cup player Retief Goosen return to form with a T3 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. With so many potential "rookies" on the International team, it will be nice to have veterans like Retief, Ernie Els and Adam Scott on board to provide some balance and leadership.

I can't complete this blog without congratulating young Rory McIlroy on his most impressive U.S. Open victory last week. I competed in the U.S. Open the last time it was held at Congressional in 1997 and know what a challenging venue it is. It was a pleasure to watch Rory perform at such a high level for four consecutive days under such immense pressure.

I'm looking forward to getting the potential members of my team together for a meeting during the week of the PGA Championship in August in Atlanta. Between now and then I will continue to monitor their performance closely. There is a lot of golf to be played between now and The Presidents Cup, but November will be here before we know it and I look forward to the matches with great anticipation. I also look forward to my next update next month following The Open Championship at Royal St. George's. Until then...

April 14, 2011

Hello again! It's time to check in with everyone as we draw closer and closer to The Presidents Cup 2011 at Royal Melbourne in November. It's hard to believe it's already the middle of April and two months have passed since my last blog. There is a lot I want to update you about, so I'll get right to it.

I watched with great interest the coverage from the Masters this past week, as I'm sure many of you did. What a finish! Probably the best theater I have ever witnessed watching any golf tournament on TV. I believe at one point during Sunday's CBS telecast, a commentator remarked that every continent was represented on the leaderboard, with the exception of Antarctica. If that doesn't speak to the global nature of today's game, nothing does -- truly incredible.

It was especially exciting for me as International Team Captain to watch the action unfold with so many potential team members battling for the lead. Six players who could be members of my team in November finished inside the top 10, highlighted by winner Charl Schwartzel. I know Charl was not a household name for many golf fans prior to the Masters, especially in the United States, but he's been a wonderful player for a number of years and I was happy to see him break through on such a big stage. To finish with four-consecutive birdies to win the Masters is incredible stuff, and his victory vaulted him to the top of the International Team standings. Coming through with that type of performance under pressure will serve him well when he represents South Africa in his first Presidents Cup this November. He is a great player, a stand up guy with great humility.

South Korea's K.J. Choi and Argentina's Angel Cabrera, both veteran members of the International Team, produced solid results as well. I look forward to watching their good play continue through the summer as their experience and leadership would be most welcome in the team room and on the golf course.

As I'm sure many of you probably guessed, I was extremely pleased with how my fellow Aussies performed at Augusta. Three Australians in the top five is impressive and, for a time there on Sunday, I actually took a photo with my iPhone of the three Australian flags next to their names on top of the leaderboard as was shown on TV before commercial break. Seeing that gave me goose bumps. It looked like any one of them could win the tournament.

I was able to catch up with Jason Day, Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy on the phone following Sunday's round. I won't share exactly what we talked about, but I told them I was extremely proud of the way they performed and that Australian golf is in very good hands. They are all currently in the top 10 of the International Team standings, and I know all three are keen to make the squad and compete at Royal Melbourne this November.

As determined as all of the Australians are to make the team, I know the people of Australia are just as excited to host the event. Ticket sales opened up to the general public just a few weeks ago, and I've heard they are off to a terrific start, which is no surprise as Australians love their golf. I know the crowds will be supportive of both teams, but it will be truly special to play a "home game" in front of so many Australian fans.

I think a mention should be made about the resolution of the potential conflict of dates that was looming between The Presidents Cup and the South African Open. After many weeks of negotiations between the South African Tour and the PGA TOUR, an agreement was reached. This was vital for The Presidents Cup and my team members, many who would have been conflicted if it was not resolved. So kudos to all parties involved for reaching the decision on changing the conflicting dates.

On a personal note, I continue my rehabilitation from surgery on my right shoulder, which I underwent in February. I look forward to competing again soon, hopefully by the end of July. A lot of work needs to be done between now and then, but I look forward to the challenge. I'll be back in touch soon.

February 15, 2011

Hello again everyone. It's hard to believe it's been more than a year since we finished up the Captains' Blogs for the 2009 Presidents Cup. I'm excited to start things up again in advance of the event this November. I'm thrilled to lead the International Team for a second time and can't begin to convey what an honor it will be to Captain the team in my homeland when the matches return to Royal Melbourne Golf Club. I have very fond memories of our triumph at Royal Melbourne in 1998 and hope we can duplicate that effort come November.

It's been a busy stretch over the past few months with regard to competition. I played back-to-back weeks in early December at the Australian Open and then as host of the Shark Shootout. It was nice to get the competitive juices flowing again, though I didn't perform as well as I would have liked. It was great fun playing with Matt Kuchar at the Shark Shootout; I followed his wonderful year on the PGA TOUR in 2010 and he's sure to be a strong part of the U.S. side at The Presidents Cup.

After experiencing ongoing discomfort in my left shoulder, I underwent an arthroscopic procedure Feb. 14 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. It's unfortunate that I have to undergo a second surgery to my left shoulder, but for more than six months now, I've known that such a procedure would be required. I'm hopeful that with aggressive rehabilitation I will be able to play towards the end of July, but obviously we will know a lot more in the coming weeks.

If the start of the season proves to be any indication of what's to come, it seems there could be several new faces on the International Team by the time the matches come around. British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen bounced back from an ankle injury to claim the Africa Open in his native South Africa in January and appears to be in great shape to make the team for the first time. Fellow South African Charl Schwartzel began the year with a top 10 in Abu Dhabi and looks to be in solid standing as well. And I'm sure you fans in the States have become familiar with young Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela after his terrific start to the year. The passion and energy with which he plays the game was evident both in his victory at the Bob Hope Classic and his near miss in San Diego. It will be fun to watch how things unfold for him as the year goes on.

As I'm sure many of you have seen on the news, Queensland, my native state in Australia, has experienced unprecedented flooding since November of last year. I remember vividly the floods of 1974, which pale in comparison to the tragedy unfolding there now. Earlier this month, in conjunction with the PGA TOUR and The Presidents Cup, we donated $150,000 (US) to the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal, which was launched to help Queenslanders affected by the floods. I know the determination and resolve of the people of Queensland and it is my sincerest hope these funds will help during the long recovery process ahead.

I look forward to keeping you updated on all the happenings with the International Team over the coming months as The Presidents Cup draws closer. You can be sure I will keep a keen eye on developments at the Accenture Match Play Championship later this month as there are certain to be a few U.S.-versus-International matches that will give us a glimpse of things to come in November. Until next time...