Presidents Cup 2015: Predicting Scores and Standings for Friday's Pairings
The 2015 Presidents Cup already appears to be staying in the United States. A 4-1 domination in Thursday's opening day of action left the U.S. feeling strong about its chances to keep the trophy while the International team searches for answers.
Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace were the only international pairing to earn a win, taking down Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed 3-and-2. The remainder of the day was a bloodbath, however, as the pairings of J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson, and Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson each came through with impressive wins for the Americans.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
“I'm certainly not despondent about the whole thing. We are not in the situation we'd like to be after the first round, but there's an awful lot of golf to play,” International captain Nick Price said, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today. “And to be honest, I think this team is going to bounce back a lot quicker than maybe any of the other teams we've had. I don't know, we'll have to wait and see."
The Fowler-Walker pairing was the most impressive, as it defeated Thongchai Jaidee and Anirban Lahiri in a matchup that was no contest from the outset. Pairing Spieth and Johnson, two of the most successful golfers of the 2015 season, was almost unfair as they breezed past Marc Leishman and Danny Lee, 4-and-3.
Friday's session (late Thursday evening in the U.S.) will see the Internationals attempt to get back in the tournament by switching up many of its pairings. The U.S. will largely stick to the status quo as the two sides go head-to-head for five four-ball matches.
Spieth and Johnson open the action by taking on Grace and Oosthuizen, the only pairing Price kept going into the second day. It's probably not going to end well for the Internationals here. Spieth is the world's best player, coming off a 2015 that saw him win two major championships and the FedEx Cup. Johnson had three top 10s in the year's four major championships and established himself as a contender after a lost 2014 season.
"Me hitting bomb drives, Jordan holing putts," Johnson said Thursday, per Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press (via Yahoo). "That's what you want to get in their heads."
The pairing itself has even drawn some hilarious reactions from fans:
The day's second matchup also appears lopsided in the United States' favor. Fowler and Walker is another pairing of top-20 players, and they'll be taking on Lee and Sangmoon Bae. Lee's currently ranked 36th in the world. Bae is 88th. The best finish between them was Bae's 33rd-place outing at the Masters. Fowler and Walker, meanwhile, combined for four wins on Tour during the 2015 season and worked well together in their opening-day win.
| 8:35 p.m. | Dustin Johnson / Jordan Spieth | Louis Oosthuizen / Branden Grace | Johnson / Spieth | 4-and-3 |
| 8:50 p.m. | Rickie Fowler / Jimmy Walker | Danny Lee / Sangmoon Bae | Fowler / Walker | 3-and-1 |
| 9:05 p.m. | Zach Johnson / Phil Mickelson | Adam Scott / Jason Day | Scott / Day | 4-and-2 |
| 9:20 p.m. | J.B. Holmes / Bubba Watson | Marc Leishman / Steven Bowditch | Holmes / Watson | 1 up |
| 9:35 p.m. | Bill Haas / Chris Kirk | Thongchai Jaidee / Charl Schwartzel | Jaidee / Schwartzel | 2 up |
The Internationals' best chance at getting a point comes in the third match, which will see Adam Scott and Jason Day pair up against Mickelson and Johnson. This is the one head-to-head where the Americans are at a complete disadvantage.
Day put a late-season charge into the sport and nearly unseated Spieth for Player of the Year after taking the PGA Championship and winning four of his final six tournaments. Scott struggled for most of 2015 as he attempted to adjust to a shortened putter, but he still had two top 10s in majors and remains a formidable threat.
“It’s still pretty much guesswork,” Price said of his team, per Fox Sports.
Day and Scott go against Mickelson and Johnson, who only narrowly got past Day and Steven Bowditch in foursomes. Odds are Day will be able to come up with a better result with a superior partner.
The day's final two matchups are closer to tossups than the other three. Watson and Holmes are favorites against Leishman and Bowditch, but the Americans each have a tendency to be inconsistent. A couple early slip-ups and the International pairing could make an upset—though I wouldn't expect it.
In the nightcap, Bill Haas and Chris Kirk, the lowest-ranking American pairing, take on Charl Schwartzel and Jaidee. Neither of these teams will be relied upon to carry their respective groups, with no player ranking inside the top 25. This is the exact type of matchup the Internationals need to pull off in order to have any chance of making a comeback.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
