Presidents Cup Day One Pairing Have Been Announced

Presidents Cup is upon us and the day one pairings have been announced:

Tiger Woods & Justin Thomas vs  Marc Leishman & Joaquin Niemann

Everyone kind of expected Tiger and JT to be paired together and that is exactly what happened. Cameras will be following this duo around every second of play, as they should since this quite possibly could be the strongest pair either side has to offer. Leishman, one of the top international team players,  will be a hometown favorite that will draw a crowd, even though no help is needed in that area when Tiger is who he is playing against. Niemann has been on a hot streak lately taking down Military Tribute at the Greenbrier in September and hopes to roll that momentum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay vs Adam Hadwin & Sung-jae Im

Xander will make his rookie debut for the Presidents Cup, but that shouldn’t really matter. He has playing at a high level that past few seasons and should be a top contender here as well. Cantlay will also make his debut, be even less worry for him as he has proved himself to be one of the most consistent players on tour, racking up 8 top 10 finishes this year (one of those being a win at Memorial). Hadwin has played in the Presidents Cup before, but is yet to earn a point. He will hope to do that this time around. Im is the steady hand for the International Team as he has placed top 10 seven times throughout this season.

Bryson DeChambeau & Tony Finau vs Adam Scott & Ben An

This will be DeChambeau’s first Presidents Cup and he brings along with him some extra mass after bulking up during his hiatus from playing since early October. He played at the Hero World Challenge where we can say things went less than ideal for him. Finau also had a rough day at the Hero World Challenge, but after the first day was playing lights out which he hopes to translate to here in Melbourne. Scott is a Presidents Cup veteran with 8 appearances, I am sure the rookies such as his partner, An, will be looking to him for some leadership.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Webb Simpson & Patrick Reed vs Hideki Matsuyama & C.T. Pan

Simpson finds himself without Bubba Watson (his partner the last two Presidents Cups) and a new, some might say controversial partner in Patrick Reed. I am sure this duo will be getting more attention than what they did normally and I am not completely sure why? (LOL) This will be the fourth straight Presidents Cup for Matsuyama who the International Team will rely on heavily if they want to compete with this stacked team of Americans. Pan is the first Taiwanese player to play in a Presidents Cup so I am sure his home country will be pulling for him hard.

Dustin Johnson & Gary Woodland vs Abraham Ancer & Louis Oosthuizen

DJ has been banged up so we are not too sure what form he will be in here, but if he is anywhere close to the top of his game the International Team should be very scared. It is Woodland’s first appearance at the Presidents Cup, but that shouldn’t be a problem for one of the best ball strikers in the game. Ancer has found success in Australia, taking down the 2018 Australia Open in Sidney and finishing T-2 at the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne only a week later. Oosthuizen is the only International player with a positive record (7-5-3) so he will need to be on top of his game if the International Team wants to keep up with the Americans.