Trevor’s Tiger touch

There has always been something of Gary Player in Trevor Immelman and with Ernie Els and Retief Goosen away campaigning on the international circuits he has moved emphatically into the void to clinch the Sunshine Tour’s order of merit title.

It may be the only time in Immelman’s career that he ends up as the top man on the local tour for, like Player, he has bigger fish to fry.

Being the leading player at home will therefore merely be a beacon, a necessary signpost, to him in his quest to be one of the best golfers in the world.

His has been a single-minded pursuit of excellence and watching him this season as he moved confidently to a higher plane I was struck by something else – there’s a lot of Tiger Woods in Trevor Immelman.

Even though his game was shaped by David Frost, his boyhood mentor in Somerset West, and like most South African youngsters he looked up to Player and Els, playing a lot of golf with the latter, Immelman had the mark of Tiger.

There was something about the tension in him, the crackling energy of his concentration, the way he “burned” that said Tiger rather than Easy.

Thus it came as no surprise to find that Trevor indeed possesses the touch of the Tiger.

His coach is none other than Claude Harmon, son of the man who shaped Tiger, Butch Harmon.

The younger Harmon is a scion of the Harmon coaching dynasty that started with Claude snr and branched to Butch and his brothers and at Christmas, when most others were having a break, Immelman traveled to Lake Nona, in Orlando, Florida, where he already has a home to make him a neighbour of Els, Goosen, Price and Sergio Garcia (among others!) to practise under the guidance of Harmon jnr.

Immelman had “a few things to work on, a few changes to make” and typically he went at it with single-minded dedication.

But, he was quick to add when I had a brief chat to him, he is not trying to copy Tiger’s swing – even though there are distinct similarities; especially in his set-up.

“I am being taught from the same perception (of the golf swing) so there may be things that are reminiscent of Tiger but I am certainly not copying his swing.

“He is six-foot two and I’m five-nine so even though I really love his swing there are essential differences because we are built differently. There are things he can do that I can’t and vice versa. What I’m concentrating on is what works for me,” he explained.

It worked for him when he won the SAA Open – for what will stand as his first European Tour victory – with distinctly “Tigeresque” overtones; the last 12 holes in six under, a birdie at the 72nd hole and then all but holing his second in the play-off.

What was more interesting is how Immelman reacted to hauling himself to the next level. At the Alfred Dunhill he eagled the 72nd hole to get into the play-off; an experience he now says he “really enjoyed.”

A week later it’s the Dimension Data at Sun City and he wins again – scrapping, chipping and putting, and “hangin’ tough.”

Next he’ll win overseas. Of that I have no doubt. Immelman has what Player had, what Tiger has – he loves to win, he loves to be in a position to win and he’ll do what it takes to get there.