Trevor Immelman helped his International team make a spirited fightback in the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow last month, but the US team still triumphed to leave the hosts with a 12-1-1 record since the biennial tournament began in 1994.
The one-sided nature of results has led to calls to revamp the tournament in the wake of the International team’s latest defeat. However, Immelman thinks those suggestions are disrespectful. Speaking on Claude Harmon III’s podcast (opens in new tab), he said: “I’ve had to listen to that crap for two years now. People hitting me up on social media all the time telling me that they’ve gotta blow this thing up.
“I find it disrespectful on all accounts, to be extremely honest with you. I find it disrespectful to us as international golfers that are professional athletes that compete at the highest level week in and week out. We’re not scrubs. Are we as strong as the Americans? Doesn’t quite look like it right now. Have they kicked our butts in this event? They sure have. But there’s been some close calls, and so I find it disrespectful to us.”
One of the proposals is to include female players in future tournaments, but Immelman thinks that idea, in particular, should be a non-starter. He said: “I find it equally disrespectful to the women golfers. And here’s why: I don’t think women golfers need men to make them and their competitions relevant. Their competitions are already relevant. I sit down and watch every single shot of the Solheim Cup. Every single shot. It’s one of my favourite times of the year when that event goes on. I watched the US Women’s Open. I watched the Women’s British Open a few weeks ago when South African Ashleigh Buhai came down the stretch, almost coughed it up and won in the playoff at Muirfield, matching Ernie Els’ win at the Open at Muirfield.
“Women don’t need men to make them relevant in sport. My family and I were glued to the TV when Serena Williams played her last match at the US Open. She’s one of the greatest athletes to ever walk on the planet. So, I…
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