Greg Norman has named the injured Tim Clark as a captain’s assistant for this year’s Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia.
Norman made the announcement during a private meeting of potential International Team members today (Tues) at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Atlanta, and venue for this week’s U.S. PGA Championship.
Bernie McGuire speaks with Greg Norman Tuesday in Atlanta. (Photo - Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
Clark has not competed on the PGA Tour since undergoing elbow surgery last November.
He enjoys a 5-2-8 record from the three Presidents Cups he’s played.
“Tim brings a lot of Presidents Cup experience to the position, having been a member of three previous International Teams, including the one I captained in 2009, where he was an inspiration to all his fellow team members for his performance and incredible team spirit, which is so vital in seeking a victory.” said Norman who indicated he was only in Atlanta for the meeting.
“When he and I spoke a few weeks ago, he confided in me on the status of his medical dilemma, and I quickly realized he would not be able to compete due to pending surgery that is necessary for him to return to his winning ways. With this, I came to the conclusion after consultation with Frank, that he would be an enormous asset to me, Frank, and to the team in the role of captain’s assistant.”
Clark made his Presidents Cup debut in 2003 when he was selected as a Captain’s Pick by International Team Captain Gary Player.
“It was a tough decision to accept that I would not be able to compete at Royal Melbourne later this year due my elbow surgery,” said Clark.
“But my spirits took a turn for the best when Greg asked me to join him and Frank Nobilo as a captain’s assistant. If I can’t swing the club myself to help the International Team achieve a victory, I’ll certainly do all I can in the team room to help the rest of my fellow players.”
New Zealand’s Frank Nobilo, who played alongside Norman in the 1998 Presidents Cup when last played in Australia, is Norman’s other ‘captain’s assistant’.
This marks the first time that each captain will have two official assistants, a change that was announced in March 2010 when Couples and Norman were named captains again for 2011.
Couples, the USA Team Captain, brings back Jay Haas and Michael Jordan as his two captain’s assistants from the victorious 2009 team.
The 2011 will be held at Royal Melbourne from November 17-20 with the 2013 event to be staged at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
The Presidents Cup 2015 will be staged either in South Korea, Japan, India, South Africa or Argentina, which are all now going through a bid process.
The U.S. Team has claimed victory in five of the seven events played since the competition began in 1994 (the 2003 event resulted in a memorable tie when Tiger Woods and Ernie Els dueled into a twilight, sudden-death playoff).
