When Trevor Immelman was six years old, he marched into his family’s living room in Somerset West, South Africa, and declared to his parents that he was going to be one of the best golfers in the world.
Ah, the boldness of youth. Fortunately, his father Johan firmly believed in the importance of listening to children.
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“I fell in love with this sport right away. Just saying those words gave me goosebumps,” Trevor said Friday at a press conference ahead of the PNC Championship. “We used to record on VHS and play it back and watch golf non-stop, professional golf non-stop, imitate the players, try to do things we saw them do on TV, hoping that one day we’d get that opportunity.”
The first major he attended as a child was the 1986 Masters, won by Jack Nicklaus, and it left a lasting impression on him.
“Everything I do from now on, every decision and the answer to that decision has to be, ‘Is this going to help me get to the Masters one day?'” Trevor said.
Fred Couples and Trevor Immelman laugh as they walk off the first tee during the second round of the 2024 PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.
Following Trevor’s bold declaration, Johann turned to his wife June and said, “Two things can happen here. We can turn off his sight immediately, or we can choose to believe in him. But here’s the trick: If we choose to believe in him, what are we going to do?”
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First, he built a green with bunkers and floodlights in the front garden of his South African home. It became the home of the Trevor’s Corner Shootout, which was held in the backyard for several days each year. Johan planned Trevor’s international schedule, kept in constant contact by fax in the pre-internet days, and sent him on a 19-hour solo trip to the United States.
“We put him on a plane with a credit card and a global phone card and said, ‘We hope to see you again,'” Johan once said. golf week.
But he also gave him all the tools to fuel his passion, which culminated in his 2008 Masters victory among his 11 world championships. In winning the Green Jacket, he held off Tiger Woods with one of his seven runner-up finishes in a major, but it was one of the few times he has surpassed Tiger.
“Every time I see him, I’m tough on him about it,” Trevor said. “I’ve always told my kids, I also have a second daughter, Maya, that if you’re going to send a Christmas card every year, you might as well send it to Tiger, because without him, we would be in a different situation.”
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Hailing from a small suburb of Cape Town, Trevor’s accomplishments are remarkable in their own right, and it didn’t hurt that his parents supported his efforts to achieve the greatness he envisioned.
“It’s pretty noble for a young kid to say, ‘I want to be a great golfer and win a major championship,’ and a parent to say, ‘Okay, okay, we’re going to help you,'” said Trevor’s older brother, Mark, also a golf commentator for CBS. “I salute my father for his foresight.”
Trevor has passed on his love for the game to his son Jacob, a 20-year-old freshman at Clemson University. He is a member of the golf team and is studying finance. It’s no surprise that the children of professional golfers show the same love for the game as their fathers, but the apple didn’t fall far from the tree for Jacob, who will be partnering Trevor at the PNC Championship for the second year in a row.
“I think the reason I like it so much is because it’s never been forced upon me,” Jacob said. “I think if it’s forced on you, you might end up hating it. So it was all my decision to play this and love it.”
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Team Immelman fits well into the philosophy that makes the PNC Championship a beloved event for participants, fans and viewers alike at home. Trevor, who has been focused on talking about the world’s best players these days, is dusting off his club ahead of the two-day, 36-hole scramble tournament and said his son has been practicing playing the popular format.
“Since I’m not a golfer anymore, I have to mentally rewind the clock to remember good shots I’ve hit in the past,” Trevor said. “We’ve been practicing a little bit over the last few weeks and we’re hoping to get into the game in a few days and not embarrass ourselves.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Trevor Immelman instructs kids to send Christmas cards to Tiger Woods
