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Presidents Cup: Ernie Els announces final four captain’s picks

The International team for this year's Presidents Cup is complete

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With just over a month until the 13th Presidents Cup tees off, the final four players for the International Team are locked in.

International Team Captain Ernie Els has announced a primo selection of players to top off his 2019 team, with Adam Hadwin of Canada, Sungjae Im of Korea, Byeong Hun An of South Korea, and Joaquín Niemann of Chile all getting the call-up.

For the first time in Presidents Cup history, each captain has been given four captain’s picks instead of just two. The new four will join the eight players announced earlier in the year – Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama and debutants Abraham Ancer, Haotong Li, Cameron Smith and C.T. Pan.

Els will captain the youngest International Team in the event’s history, with the average age of his 12 players totalling just over 29 years old. Fun fact: this is the fourth consecutive International Team that has been younger than the previous year.

With these picks, this will also be the most diverse International Team in Presidents Cup history, with players from Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Mexico and South Africa all represented.

Adam Hadwin will make his second consecutive President’s Cup appearance this year. He finished the 2018-19 PGA TOUR Season with five top-10s as well as finishing runner-up in his first start of the 2019-20 season at the Safeway Open, followed with a T4 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Hadwin finished with a 0-2-1 record in his Presidents Cup debut.

Korea’s Sungjae Im will be one of six debutants in the International Team after a rookie season that was highlighted by 16 top-25 finishes in 35 starts. He is one of only five players in Presidents Cup history that will take to the green before turning 22 years old.

Byeong Hun An had three top-10 finishes and eight top-25s during the 2018-’19 PGA Tour season. He continued that strong play this fall to start the 2019-’20 season, with three more top-10 finishes.

The final youngun is Joaquín Niemann who can add a Presidents Cup team announcement to his 21st birthday celebrations. The former world no. 1-ranked amateur will be the first player from Chile to compete in the Presidents Cup after becoming the country’s first PGA TOUR winner with his victory at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier in September.

The Presidents Cup will be held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club from Monday 9 until Sunday 15 December 2019. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.au.