INCHEON, South Korea // Bubba Watson and JB Holmes will lead the US defence of the Presidents Cup against Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama when the 11th edition begins today for the first time on Asian soil.
But the No 1 and No 2 players in the world, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, were kept apart as captains Jay Haas and Nick Price selected their five pairings yesterday for the opening foursome skirmishes at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club.
Four months ago, Spieth watched from the clubhouse as big-hitting Dustin Johnson three-putted the final green to hand him the US Open.
Now they will form a potent combination in the anchor match of the alternate-shot format today as they take on the trans-Tasman partnership of New Zealand’s Danny Lee and Australia’s Marc Leishman.
It raised some eyebrows among the assembled media when Spieth was split up from Patrick Reed, after the pair had a successful Ryder Cup partnership a year ago.
Haas said that it was Spieth, who has won two majors and the FedEx Cup in 2015, who instigated the move.
“Jordan and Dustin, they have been wanting this for a while, wanting this pairing. And what Jordan wants, Jordan gets right now,” he said with a grin.
Price said he had not wanted Spieth and Day to face off so early in the week, but left the door open that it could happen at the weekend.
“I’m not going to put match-ups just because what the media wants,” Price said.
“I’m going to put match-ups there that I feel is best for our team. That’s the most important thing. And I don’t think it would be fair to the rest of the team for me to single out one person. I wouldn’t do that right now.”
Asian rookies Anirban Lahiri and Thongchai Jaidee, the first Presidents Cup representatives from India and Thailand, respectively, go head to head with Rickie Fowler and Jimmy
Walker.
Scott has discarded the broomstick putter he used for years and will play with a standard length club this week. But that is not a worry for Price.
“Adam putted really well the last couple of days,” Price told a news conference. “He’s had a month off and he’s been working very hard.”
The Australian and Japanese players teamed up successfully in the foursome format two years ago to defeat Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner.
“He and Hideki, they play practice rounds during the year together. They played so well together last time. They were great. So they were sort of an automatic for us.”
Price revealed his hand was slightly forced as Charl Schwartzel is sick, having picked up a flu-type virus earlier in the week.
The South African practised with Bae Sang-moon on Tuesday so there was disappointment for local fans hoping to see their hero Bae, who now also sits out the first round.
The International team are huge underdogs, having only won the title once, back in 1998. The Americans have a proud record of eight wins one draw and one defeat to uphold and have not lost a session in foursomes or fourballs since 2007.
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