Published July 17, 2008 on November 26, 2018

Captain Els Debuts New International Team Logo for 2019 Presidents Cup

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At a member event at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, International Team Captain Ernie Els debuted a new International Team logo for the 2019 Presidents Cup. Nearly one year before the event returns to The Royal Melbourne Golf Club on December 9-15, 2019, Els launched the new logo with a goal to give the team a more unified focus while also allowing members from different countries to have the flags of their home countries represented.

Els felt that the United States Team can easily point to their flag and the pride that goes along with playing for their country. With the International Team representing countries from across the globe, he looked to create a logo that brought his players together while also including individual countries at the same time.

“It’s a special group of guys from all over the world that make up the Presidents Cup International Team,” Els said. “Being from across the globe, we don’t all play for the same flag. This special group of people needed something to identify with. To lift the spirit of the team, we felt like we needed a logo for ourselves.”

Els looked to friends from the military for inspiration for the logo which as pictured can stand on its own or include individual flags from home countries.

A collection of top players from countries eligible to play on the International Team joined Els for the announcement including Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, China’s Haotong Li and Ashun Wu, India’s Anirban Lahiri, Korea’s Si Woo Kim, Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas and Mexico’s Abraham Ancer.

Lahiri, who has featured in the last two Presidents Cup, is fired up to make the International team again under the captaincy of Els. “For me, to have my country represented as a part of something that’s bigger than all the countries put together, it’s very special. You do represent your country even though you’re an International first that week, and I think it’s also going to bring the people of these countries together. It’s going to motivate me even more if that’s even possible come the next Presidents Cup. I think the people in India are going to see the Indian flag and gravitate towards it.

“People from Mexico and Australia and Canada, even though they know they’re Internationals, when they see the flag, you know, there’s a different kind of passion that you attach to it and I think that’s going to be added to what’s already there.”

Kiradech, the first Thai to earn PGA TOUR membership and currently 16^th on the International team rankings, said: “The Presidents Cup has always been our biggest team event for international golfers and for the Asians. If I can be a part of the team, it’ll be a joy for me to be amongst the best 12 International players next year. I’m currently in contention and hopefully, I can do it. Looking at the new logo, it makes you feel like you’ll get a lot of energy from it. It means a lot to the players to have our flags included in the International team logo.”

The 23-year-old Li, currently third on the International team rankings, said: The new logo is quite cool. It’s a very good design …. to have our country’s flag featured in the middle of the logo is fantastic. Last year, I missed making the team by like a couple of spots which was a bit disappointing. I think it’s a new opportunity for me for me to get into the team and we hope to win it this time. The special thing is that if you make the team, you know you have to play really solid over a span of time. That’s the main thing for me. It’ll be special to play for Ernie. I played with him at the British Open (final round) last year and he’s always supported my career a lot since then. He’ll be a good captain. It’s going to be a huge honour for us, and hopefully, I can get on the team and win the event.”

The return to Melbourne, Australia, will mark the third time in the biennial event’s 25-year history it has been held at the renowned Sandbelt course, as the event was previously held in Melbourne in 1998 and 2011 at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Melbourne also holds the distinction as the site of the lone International Team’s victory in 1998, which saw Peter Thomson’s International Team defeat Jack Nicklaus’ U.S. Team, 20.5 to 11.5.  In 2011, Fred Couples led the U.S. Team to a 19-15 win over Greg Norman and the Internationals. The 1998 event was also held in December, a date that traditionally works well with other golf tournaments held in the country.

The 2019 Presidents Cup will bring the very best for fans interested in a world-class team competition with the top 12 players from the United States taking on the top 12 from across the globe, excluding Europe. While golf fans can expect an incredible atmosphere and unmatched access to the competition, the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne will be a social, lifestyle and business gathering that will bring all backgrounds and interests together to enjoy a week-long festival atmosphere. On the course, players from across the world will be celebrated for their achievements, sportsmanship and love of the game. Off the course, fans will be able to find culinary options from around the world as well as hospitality and fan venues to match all levels of spectating and socializing, all while enjoying the very best in Australian culture.

The oldest golf club in Australia, The Royal Melbourne Golf Club was founded in 1891 and moved to its current location in 1926, becoming the anchor of what is now known as the Sandbelt. The gem of Australian golf, The Royal Melbourne Golf Club has two courses, both ranked in the World’s Top 100, which were designed by the legendary Alister MacKenzie. In 1959, in order to host the first of many international tournaments, 12 holes of the West Course and six from the East Course were combined to create what is known as the Composite Course, which also hosted the 2013 World Cup of Golf, won by Jason Day and Adam Scott.

The Presidents Cup is a unique golf event in that there is no purse or prize money.  Players are not paid for their participation, but each competitor allocates an equal portion of the funds generated to charities of his choice.  Since the event’s inception, more than $49.1 million has been raised for charity from event proceeds, as well as contributions made on behalf of the Presidents Cup, including a record charitable donation of $10.7 million from the 2017 event alone.