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Nick Price

Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN golf legend Nick Price has named fellow Zimbabweans Mark McNulty and Tony Johnstone as his assistants for this year’s Presidents Cup in South Korea.

McNulty and Johnstone, who both assisted Price at Muirfield Village in 2013, will join Korean K.J. Choi to complete the Internationals leadership team.

The team was finalised on Wednesday, with Price and company opting for continuity, while United States’ Jay Haas turned for experience.

Price’s Internationals were beaten by 18-1-2 points to 15-1-2 at Muirfield Village in 2013, while Haas chose next year’s U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III.

According to the Globe and Mail, Price’s team will face a daunting task against his opponents.

“Price, whose Internationals face a daunting task in trying to reverse a run of eight defeats in just 10 editions of the Presidents Cup, was delighted to bring back McNulty and Johnstone as his assistants.

“(We) have known each other since childhood, playing with and competing against each other at junior tournaments and becoming great friends away from the golf course over the last 40 years or so,” former world number one Price said.

“Tony and Mark immersed themselves in their roles in the year leading up to the 2013 Presidents Cup . . . it was an easy choice for me to ask them to return as assistant captains again.”

The President Cup will be played in Asia for the first time at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon from October 8 to 11.

Love will round out the U.S. back-room staff, with his long-time friend and three-time Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples having previously been appointed by Haas as an assistant.

“Jay and I were successful as assistants for the last Presidents Cup in 2013, and I am very excited to join him and the U.S. team in South Korea this fall,” Love, who was U.S. Ryder Cup captain at Medinah in 2012, said in a statement.

“I love being in the team room and positively impacting the US side anyway I can.”