After three straight losses in the Presidents Cup, the International team not only need to win the ninth edition at Royal Melbourne Golf Club for themselves but also to lend the trophy more credibility, according to captain Greg Norman. The biennial tournament between the Internationals and the United States has struggled to generate the same level of excitement as the tension-charged Ryder Cup, with the Americans winning all but two editions. “I think it's really important (we win). As a team, it's important for us, there's no question,” Australian Norman told reporters on the first official practice day Tuesday. The Americans, who play the Ryder Cup against Europe and the Presidents Cup in alternate years, enjoy a natural advantage in team cohesion than the disparate group of nations that are thrown together for the Internationals, but have also hosted the event in six out of the past eight editions. In 2003, the teams drew 17-17 in South Africa after local favorite Ernie Els and Tiger Woods had parred the first three extra holes in an unprecedented playoff before it became too dark to continue. However, the Americans went onto to win the next three tournaments on home soil, the last in San Francisco by an emphatic five points, and Norman said the advantage was telling. The ninth Presidents Cup starts on Thursday with the opening foursome matches.