Kuala lumpur: Like his predecessor, Trevor Immelman, the new International Team captain, believes the stars from Asia can align in perfect symmetry as he begins to plot against history and an all-conquering United States Team at next year's Presidents Cup.
As the youngest captain to be appointed -- Immelman will be 41 when Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina hosts the prestigious team competition -- the affable South African will be armed with some great insights of his men most likely to go into battle and seek a long-awaited International victory.
In December, his mentor, Ernie Els, nearly caused one of the greatest sporting upsets at Royal Melbourne in Australia where his thoughtful and meticulous approach saw the Internationals lead into the final day for the first time since 2003.
Els introduced a new team culture, passion and logo to unify a side made up of so many different countries and regions and despite a painful 16-14 loss following a spirited final day fightback led by American playing captain Tiger Woods, a new spirit was born which Immelman believes will see the International Team carry the momentum to Quail Hollow.
Asia was well represented in the last International Team with Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, Korean duo An Byeong-Hun and Im Sung-Jae, Taiwan's CT Pan and China's Li Haotong featuring prominently.
With the exception of Li who was kept off the scoreboard, the others contributed a massive 10 points for the team, with 22-year-old Im emerging as one of the heroes with 3.5 points from his five matches.
A veteran of four Presidents Cups, Matsuyama, 28, delivered 2.5 points, debutants Pan and An put up two points each while Li, the first Chinese golfer to qualify for the Presidents Cup, fell in both his matches.
Immelman, who played in the 2005 and 2007 editions, knows the significance that Asia will bring to the International Team's quest for redemption and glory.
The Internationals' lone victory in the series dates back to 1998.
"The Asian players have always been a very, very important part of our team makeup. They will continue to be so," said Immelman during the unveiling of his captaincy in April.
"You look at the history going back with [Shigeki] Maruyama and [Joe] Ozaki and so many other great Asian players, KJ [Choi] included, we've had a number of Asian players on our team [last year], and they performed brilliantly.
"It really was a close-knit team. I really was impressed. You just have to look at the young rookies who included a man in his young 20s, Im Sung-Jae. The way he performed, it was so much fun to see. And then when it mattered, he went out against these players and performed brilliantly, and then you look at his form subsequently and at the Honda Classic, just so, so impressive."
"Sung-Jae has a unique personality trait where he is incredibly humble, but he has a lot of inner self-belief. I do honestly believe he has an opportunity to become one of the greatest golfers in the world."
Having competed across Asia throughout his career, Immelman, who is a two-time PGA Tour winner, is also keeping an eye out for new talents from further afield apart from those who compete regularly on the PGA Tour.
One young star who has caught his attention is Thailand's 24-year-old Jazz Janewattananond, who won four times on the Asian Tour last season and currently sits in 39th position on the world rankings.
"You look at a guy like Jazz, who's climbed his way into the top-50 and playing some beautiful golf in his own right. He and a number of other guys … you look at Li, Pan and An, we can go down the list of great Asian players who really are starting to make their mark in the world of golf," said Immelman.
Other Asians who may well be on Immelman's radar include China's Zhang Xinjun, who is enjoying a second stint on the PGA Tour this season where he lies 59th on the FedEx Cup points list, and South Korean Kim Si-Woo, who featured in the 2017 edition, which was the year he won the Players Championship.
"We had an amazing chemistry in our team room down in Australia. And it translated onto the golf course, where our guys really did compete as one unit, and we came so close to almost causing one of the biggest upsets, shucks, that I can think of in sports, when you look at the differences in the world rankings," Immelman said.
"I think what Ernie did for our team, giving us something to build off of, we sure are hoping that that is going to be some kind of turning point for our team to where we can find a way to finally win this Cup again."
Chuah Choo Chiang is senior director, communication of the PGA Tour and is based in Kuala Lumpur.