Presidents Cup Day 2 Match Previews

Bubba Watson, along with teammate J.B. Holmes, should help Team USA win a point during Friday’s second session. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The opening day of the Presidents Cup is always a great one for the world of golf, but thanks to an uncompetitive first session, the event could be all but decided well before the last few matches roll around. After winning all but one match, Jay Haas’ Team USA opened up a four-point lead through five.

Of course, Nick Price’s internationals have time to stage a turnaround–need I invoke the Battle at Brookline, or the Miracle at Medinah, or even the Solheim Cup from earlier this year?–but if they want to do so, they’ll have to start now. If they let this get out of hand, it’ll be a loooooong weekend, regardless of how well they play.

Now that Friday’s four-ball match-ups have been announced, let’s go five deep and take an in-depth look at each one.

Team USA is going for the jugular.

Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth v. Louis Oosthuizen/Branden Grace (9:35 a.m. ET)–Now that it’s in the driver’s seat, Team USA is going for the jugular, sending out its top duo in the first match of the day. In response, Team International will be forced to send out its lone winning pairing from the first session. Earlier today, Johnson and Spieth made short work of Danny Lee and Marc Leishman, never trailing and winning 4 & 3, while Oosthuizen and Grace were similarly solid in their victory over Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed. This could prove to be one of the vital matches of the week–if Team International can get something going, it will keep them within striking distance, but if the Americans pull it out, they’ll only keep gaining momentum. Prediction: Team USA

Rickie Fowler/Jimmy Walker v. Danny Lee/Sang-moon Bae(9:50 a.m. ET)–Coming off of a dominant 5 & 4 win over Anirban Lahiri and Thongchai Jaidee, the battle-tested duo of Fowler and Walker should be brimming with confidence. Their opponents, Lee and Bae, don’t figure to be the toughest foes of the week, but don’t count them out. Bae, the home crowd favorite who will be playing in his first match of the week, has notched two career wins at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, so history is on his side. However, Lee looked flat in yesterday’s match against Spieth and Johnson. He’ll need to turn it on if he wants to unseat Fowler and Walker, a historically productive pairing. Prediction: Team USA

Live Feed

Presidents Cup 2022 teams, schedule, format and how to watch US vs International /

FanSided

Presidents Cup Exact Score Predictions (How Much Will Team USA Win By?)Betsided

Presidents Cup Prop Bets (Who Will Score Most Points for Team USA?)Betsided

Presidents Cup Betting Preview (Odds, Rosters and Prediction)Betsided

Presidents Cup title a fitting conclusion to memorable 2019 for Tiger WoodsFanSided

Team USA needs more than Tiger and Thomas to win the Presidents CupFanSided

Zach Johnson/Phil Mickelson v. Adam Scott/Jason Day (10:05 a.m. ET)–This match will see two of the top American players of the last 15 years square off against a pair of former world No. 1s. Day is getting a second chance to take down the duo of Johnson and Mickelson, but his partner has been upgraded from Steven Bowditch to Scott, the flailing former Masters winner who notched all of three top 10s in 2015. Still, Day is that good, too good to lose to the veterans for two days in a row–regardless of whether or not Scott shows up to play, he could carry this team. And remember, at last year’s Ryder Cup, Mickelson had some trouble with playing too many matches back-to-back. Here’s where the internationals score their first points of the session. Prediction: Team International

J.B. Holmes/Bubba Watson v. Marc Leishman/Steven Bowditch (10:20 a.m. ET)–Golf can be a tough sport to predict, but a couple months ago, I pointed out that Watson and Holmes, if he were to be selected for the team, would be an ideal pairing for Team USA. As two of the longest players on the PGA Tour, they’d put on a show and gain a huge advantage over the opposition at the same time. Well, it looks like they used my idea. During Thursday’s session, the all-Southern pairing flummoxed Scott and Hideki Matsuyama, taking the lead after the second hole and never relinquishing it. Meanwhile, Leishman has been playing poorly of late and lost yesterday, while Bowditch, despite being paired up with the world No. 2 Day, was also defeated. No reason to go against the grain in this match, especially when the Americans have such great chemistry. Prediction: Team USA

More from Pro Golf Now

Home/PGA