Breaking down the Day 1 matches at the Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup gets underway on Thursday with one five-match session of foursomes, also called alternate shot.
On Wednesday morning in South Korea, U.S. captain Jay Haas, International captain Nick Price and their respective assistants created the matches for Day 1 by announcing teams for individual matches in what literally looked like a game of Battleship.
The five matches they came up with create an interesting set of contrasts, even if there are a number of recycled teams on the U.S. side from the 2014 Ryder Cup.
Here’s a look at the matches:
Match 1: Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes (USA) vs. Adam Scott/Hideki Matsuyama (Int’l) — This is a contrast of bombers against ballstrikers. Watson, who is himself a great ballstriker, will team with Holmes, who is ostensibly the third captain’s pick, to take on two of golf’s purest swings in Scott and Matusyama, who played together in the 2013 Presidents Cup. The problem for the International side is that they don’t putt well.
Match 2: Matt Kuchar/Patrick Reed (USA) vs. Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace (Int’l) — Nick Price put a pair of South Africans togehter in Oosthuizen and Grace, which is a good move considering how tightly knit that golf community is. Kuchar and Reed are an interesting contrast in outward intensity.
Match 3: Rickie Fowler/Jimmy Walker (USA) vs. Anirban Lahiri/Thongchai Jaidee (Int’l) — Fowler and Walker had great chemistry at Gleneagles, even if they only posted a 0-1-3 record together. Walker has struggled in the second half of the year, while Fowler has surged. Lahiri is playing verly confidently while Jaidee should be a great veteran influence.
Match 4: Phil Mickelson/Zach Johnson (USA) vs. Jason Day/Steven Bowditch (Int’l) — The Aussie pairing makes sense. However, Mickelson and Johnson together doesn’t really add up on paper. Mickelson is a bomber, while Johnson is a shorter-knocker. The good news is Mickelson could put Johnson in position to hit lethal wedge shots if he can keep his drives in play. On the holes where Johnson drives? Not sure.
Match 5: Jordan Spieth/Dustin Johnson (USA) vs. Danny Lee/Marc Leishman (Int’l) — Captain Jay Haas said this was a pairing Jordan Spieth wanted, so he got it. In return, it seems like Price put out his last-ditch option. That’s not to say the Internationals should or will simply cede this point to the U.S., but Spieth might be playing so well that he could play every shot himself and win.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
