The most fascinating moment of the Presidents Cup so far was contained in a two-minute period where nobody spoke and no shots were hit. One of the great parts of the Presidents Cup is that unlike any other team event, we get to watch the pairings sausage get made. At the Ryder Cup, each captain sends their full teams for the upcoming session independently, only to find out later who they are matched up against.
Here at the Presidents Cup, each captain alternates in announcing a pairing, with the other then able to react and pick exactly who they want to play against, which sometimes leads to fascinating moments like what happened Wednesday. That’s when things got interesting. On the surface, it’s a mild surprise. Young and Schauffele didn’t play together at the Ryder Cup last fall, and Schauffele has only ever played Four-ball with two players at the Presidents Cup: Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau.
The Medinah Pairing Strategy and Captains’ Chess Match
If it didn’t surprise the Internationals, they at least saw it as a pivotal inflection point. Ogilvy and his assistants gathered around and spoke in hushed silence for more than a minute, deliberating who they would counter. Another reporter looked to me as we waited and asked if this lengthy chat was normal. “Not really,” I responded. At least not this long, I thought to myself, my eyes darting from one huddle to the other, scanning the faces of everyone involved.
“I don’t know, it’s the first time I’ve done this,” Ogilvy said when asked about the moment, cracking a wry smile.
Mike Ogilvy, International Team Captain, via PGA Tour
Neither captain would concede if they were actually caught off guard by anything the other did, but their actions were more revealing than any answers. The chess match had begun. After months of deliberating teams, developing counter strategies and debating pairings, it can only do so much at this point. Now it’s just about the golf. Speaking of that… let’s preview Thursday’s matches.
Analyzing the Thursday Four-Ball Matchups
Let’s get into the matchups. That’s all that matters at this point. While everyone is predicting a U.S. rout, I’d caution against expecting that immediately. While the U.S. dominates the Presidents Cup, they don’t dominate the Four-ball format. Over the entirety of the event, the U.S. only holds a +5 advantage in Four-ball. It’s the International Team’s best format, by far.
Match 1 (12:35 p.m. ET) features Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns (U.S.) versus Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im (International). Snedeker deferred picking first and said there was a scenario where Scheffler and Burns didn’t lead off, but that’s hard to believe. Snedeker sends out the best player in the world, clearly looking to send a message early. While Scheffler and Burns seem like a natural pair, they’ve never won a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup match together (0-3-1). Despite that, it’s hard to pick against the world No. 1, especially at home.
New Partnerships and Noteworthy Pairings
Match 2 (12:53 p.m. ET) features Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele (U.S.) versus Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune (International). You shouldn’t be surprised to see Schauffele and Cantlay split in this format. They didn’t play Four-ball together in Montreal and never have at the Ryder Cup. Instead, Schauffele draws Young, the lone bright spot on the American Ryder Cup team a year ago. Meanwhile, a really cool all-Japanese pairing comes together as Hisatsune was beaming about the possibility of playing with his hero. And this will be the first time Matsuyama plays with a fellow countryman in this event.
Here’s the pairing we’ve been waiting for! Koivun makes his debut alongside Thomas, a formality if you were paying attention to the practice round groupings. How many sessions will Koivun play now? The last time we’ve seen someone this young compete, it was Jordan Spieth, who played four sessions in his debut in 2013.
Another new pairing on the U.S. side features Clark and Morikawa, who were part of a few teams together but never partners. It’s one that feels good on paper – the steady Morikawa allowing Clark to bludgeon Medinah.