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Ernie Els was captain of the International side against the Tiger Woods-led United States Team in the 2019 Presidents Cup. He recalled the captaincy "mistake" he made against the latter at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne.
The South African recently spoke to the media before the Constellation Furyk & Friends. When asked about captaining the International side again in the Presidents Cup, Els shared that he made the gravest mistake of sending his best golfer Abraham Ancer against the in-form Woods in the first singles match.
Ernie Els revealed that the decision to send Ancer backfired him as the latter lost to Tiger Woods by a 3 & 2 margin. He was quoted by Pro Golf Now as saying:
"Tiger [Woods] was playing great back then. And that was the one mistake I made. I put my hot guy [Abraham Ancer] against Tiger, which backfired against me. I should have put a softer guy against Tiger. Anyway, that’s the one regret I have."
"I've had second thoughts" - Ernie Els on captaining the International team again in the Presidents Cup
The South African golfer's time as the captain of the International team came to an unfortunate end in 2019 after his team underperformed in the final singles matches.
They had a two-point lead against the United States after the first two days. But Tiger Woods' men put on incredible efforts to earn eight points and win the tournament for the eighth straight time.
When asked if he would ever reconsider captaining the Presidents Cup side again in future, Ernie Els replied that he thought of the possibility of leading again but he wants to stick to his decision and let the team move on as well.
He said:
"To be honest, I have. I've had second thoughts, but I have to stick with what I've done. I did what I did for that event. I think there was a lot of great changes, the guys bought in."
Ernie Els added that there had been great changes in the team and that he is confident that they are in good hands with Mike Weir, the captain of the International team in the 2024 Presidents Cup.
"They've got to get it over the line now. I think we're in good hands. Mike Weir and the guys, we talk a lot. I did have some second thoughts, but I needed to respect what we decided on and leave it at that," Ernie Els said.
The South African golfer also shared that losing the 2019 Presidents Cup was the biggest regret of his career and it would hurt him for a long time.
He said:
"You don't celebrate until the job's done, until you're finished, done, got the trophy. Then I'll party for a week with you, I will, and I have. But get it done. That still burns me."
Els is currently playing in the Constellation Furyk and Friends, a PGA Tour Champions event. He would look forward to his second win on the Tour this year and fourth overall.
