Ernie likes what he sees ahead of Melbourne

International Team captain Ernie Els is excited by the recent successes of potential recruits ahead of December's Presidents Cup showdown against the United States Team at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.

In a span of six weeks, Canada's Corey Conners, Chinese Taipei's CT Pan and South Korea's Sung Kang secured their first victories on the PGA Tour, shooting them into contention to win spots on Els' 12-man squad.

Impressive performances by Australian star Adam Scott and Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond at the recent PGA Championship also caught the South African legend's eye, while China's Li Haotong has remained on Els' radar.

"The past couple of months have been really exciting for the International Team, with many of our potential players producing some wonderful golf and enjoying success worldwide," Els said this week.

"Winning on the PGA Tour is one of the ultimate dreams for every aspiring golfer and seeing how Corey, CT and Sung Kang fought for their wins was very impressive.

"More importantly, I was encouraged to hear all three players say how determined they are in wanting to fight for spots in the Presidents Cup. Their enthusiasm will generate a lot of positive buzz and energy in the team room, which is important."

Els, who is leading the International Team for the first time after serving as a captain's assistant two years ago, was particularly pleased with his charges' efforts at the recent Players Championship in Florida.

"It was great to see Sung Kang following up on his victory with a seventh-place finish while Adam Scott, who is one of our team's stalwarts, finished tied for eighth," he said.

"Another player who has caught my attention is Jazz Janewattananond. This kid has got talent and at Bethpage Black he showed us what he can do by tying for 14th," said Els.

China's No 1 Li currently sits fourth on the team's points list and is on course to become the nation's first golfer to qualify and play in the Presidents Cup.

The top eight players qualify automatically in mid-August, with Els making four captain's picks after the PGA Tour's Asian swing in early November.

"I played with Haotong when he shot that amazing 63 in the final round of the British Open in 2017," said Els.

"He is tenacious and fiery when he gets into the zone. We all saw how he backed it up with another strong showing at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play (in March) where he reached the round of 16 after group wins over two top players in Alex Noren and Brooks Koepka."

Els, a 19-time PGA Tour winner and eight-time International Team member, is leaving no stones unturned in his hopes of turning the tide against a US Team that has lost only once to the International Team since the Presidents Cup began in 1994.

Tiger Woods will captain the US Team in the prestigious team showdown from Dec 9-15.

Els rallied the international hopefuls at the recent Zurich Classic in New Orleans, which featured a two-man team competition using foursomes and four-ball formats that were very similar to the Presidents Cup.

"I believe we had a fruitful week in New Orleans ... it allowed our players to bond and try out some different partnerships," said Els

"Our team is made up of golfers from different nationalities and cultures and it's really important to gel as one team, hence the reason for our new International Team logo, which incorporates the respective players' national flags.

"I think our team's diversity can be our strength. This is something we will continue to harness in the coming months as part of our plans to wrest the Presidents Cup from the US."