Norman encourages change as Internationals fall to 1-7-1

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Greg Norman wouldn't rule out a trip to Dublin, Ohio in 2013 as an assistant.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- A seventh loss in the nine Presidents Cups that have been contested since its 1994 debut had International Captain Greg Norman and some of his veterans in a reflective mood on Sunday.

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After all, the International Team had entered this week's competition regarded in many quarters as the favorites. Norman had five Aussies on his team as The Presidents Cup returned to Royal Melbourne where the Americans had suffered their only, extremely lopsided, loss in 1998.

Geoff Ogilvy grew up in a home adjacent to the challenging Alister Mackenzie masterpiece and hopped the fence to see his idols play. Robert Allenby, another Melbourne native, had won multiple tournaments on the famed Sandbelt course. South Africa's Ernie Els even holds the composite course record of 60.

The Americans, on the other hand, came Down Under to battle those veterans with six rookies. And Royal Melbourne is a course that is something of an acquired taste, generally regarded as one of the greatest in the world, but one that requires a big helping of local knowledge, particularly on a week like the last where Mother Nature brings nearly every season into play.

And still, the Americans took a 19-15 victory.

So what happened?

The International players will point to the Foursomes competition -- a unique and unfamiliar alternate-shot affair where Norman's team lost eight of their 11 matches. The killer was Saturday morning's session that the U.S. won 4-1 to take an 11-6 advantage.

"When you look back over all of the days of competition, our Foursomes let us down, no question about it," Norman acknowledged. "I said in the beginning that it was going to be the hardest one for us and it turned out to be the case. I think as players sitting up here, it's very difficult for us to prepare for an alternate shot format, because we don't do it."

They'll tell you the Americans have the edge because the U.S. plays Foursomes every year in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. But that's just one week a year, and there was a time in both competitions when Foursomes was the Americans' waterloo, too -- including in 1998 at Royal Melbourne when the Internationals dominated that format by an 8-2 margin.

"How do we fix it?" Els wondered aloud. "I think we are so bad at it, and every year we start The Presidents Cup with Foursomes. Especially if we have a home field advantage, why don't we start with something different, you know. Let's start with Four-ball matches, maybe that's the answer."

Of course, The Presidents Cup began with Four-Ball sessions in 1994 and '96 -- both of which produced U.S. victories. But who's counting?

Norman had another suggestion. He would like to see the International captain get four wild card picks rather than just two to complete his team of 12 players.

The International Team qualification process is based on the Official World Golf Ranking, which is features a two-year formula where points are deducted every quarter. So change occurs slowly and the International Team might not always reflect current form as well as the U.S. Team, which features a points system based on money earned.

"For future captains going forward, we need to have the opportunity for what we see, as international captains, as international players, to balance out our team for what we see as the right move," Norman said. "And everybody says, well, you're trying to keep the criteria the same about the selection of the respective teams.

"Well, the International Team goes on World Ranking points. The American Team goes on prize money. So there is a differentiator right there. ... I had three other guys ... that could have easily been on my team, but I couldn't put on my team. The top eight are going to get in anyway. So the top No. 9 or 10 would probably get in any way. So it just gives the opportunity for the captain to build a business."

Norman said he planned to put his suggestion in a report to the PGA TOUR. He cares dearly about the Presidents Cup, and he wants to make it more competitive.

His American counterpart, Fred Couples, understands Norman's concerns. But he doesn't think the inequity in Foursomes or the number of Captain's Picks was the reason for the U.S. victory.

"The best thing I feel great about is our team won in Australia on away soil, which is a demanding task," Couples said. "... But as far as having four picks or foursomes or best ball, that's the way it is, and I don't know how you can change any of that, except giving more picks. And if that's what they want, then the TOUR will get involved.

"But ... that's not why we win. We win because a lot of times, we have been in America. That's one that helps. But we won this week because we were better players, and I think we have a little motivation, and we teamed well and we won. I don't know what they would have said if they would have won. Everything would have been fair."