MEXICO CITY – When Ernie Els revealed that he would not consider a second turn as International Presidents Cup captain, telling the golf blog Morning Read earlier this month, “That’s as good as I can do,” the news surprised many.
For Adam Scott, though, it wasn’t exactly a bombshell – at least not when Els officially announced his decision.
“When I first heard, he told me straightaway after the Cup. I was a little bit surprised, but only because captains have captained a few times in the past,” Scott said on Tuesday at the WGC-Mexico Championship.
Scott is the International side’s team-room leader, and he spent the week at Royal Melbourne applauding Els’ vision and passion for the job. In fact, it was Els’ message to his team in Australia that made the South African’s decision to step down easier to accept.
“He put so much into it, and I really respect the fact that he said I gave it everything I had and he came up short and he shouldn’t get a second chance,” Scott said. “He should pass it on and let someone else do it, and I really like that attitude, actually. That’s kind of what he was saying, and that was one of many really important messages he left with our team that week for the future.”