Presidents Cup 2013 Tee Times: Pairings and Predictions for Thursday

The world's best golfers will be at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio for the 10th Presidents Cup. The event was first held in 1994 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. The competition pits the United States' best players against the best from around the world, excluding Europe.

The Americans have won eight of the first nine events, with one ending in a tie. 

This year, the American side is looking stronger than ever led by PGA Player of the Year Tiger Woods, per USA Today. Though he didn't manage to win a major championship in 2013, he secured the most tournament wins on the year.

Woods will be joined by Brandt Snedeker, 2013 Open Champion Phil Mickelson, Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Keegan Bradley, Steve Stricker, Bill Haas, Hunter Mahan, Zach Johnson, Webb Simpson, captain Fred Couples and PGA Rookie of the Year Jordan Spieth. 

The international team that will be looking to hand the Americans just their second loss in Presidents Cup history is as follows: Team captain Nick Price, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, Branden Grace, Graham DeLaet, Richard Sterne, Angel Cabrera, Marc Leishman and Brendon de Jonge.

Thursday is the first day of play and it features fourball match play. For those who aren't familiar with the format, here's how it works.

Two teams with two players each compete against each other. Each player plays his ball on each hole. 

The hole is won by the team whose player has the lowest score on the hole. That team is awarded a point for the hole. If the teams are tied, the point for the hole is split. It takes a total of 17.5 points throughout the Presidents Cup to win.

The heavy hitters are aplenty in this field. Here are the pairings, tee times and predictions for Thursday's action. Two matches have been highlighted for deeper analysis.

Matt Kuchar and Tiger Woods vs. Angel Cabrera and Marc Leishman

None of these players have played especially well of late, but when it comes to match play-chops, I'd have to give the edge to Kuchar and Woods. In similar situations both Cabrera and Leishman have faltered in 2013.

Scott defeated Cabrera in a playoff to win the 2013 Masters and Leishman's inability to maintain consistency after strong starts is a weakness. The Australian shot a sub-70 in the final round only four times in 23 starts in 2013.

Final-round pressure is the closest thing to match play. Leishman and Cabrera won't outperform Woods and Kuchar in this format.

Steve Stricker and Jordan Spieth vs. Ernie Els and Brendon de Jonge

Will Spieth's inexperience be the American's undoing in this match? I believe so. The pressure of playing against the top players in the field is something Spieth has done all year, but competing against them in match play situation is even tougher.

Spieth has been hot of late with three top-10 finishes in his last five tournaments, but the pressure of the Presidents Cup will be a different challenge. Els is one of the best match-play players in history. He's won the World Match Play Championship seven times.

He and De Jonge will be up for this match against the Americans' young gun and Stricker. Look for De Jonge and Stricker to play even, but Els will shine while Spieth falters.

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