CHARLOTTE (N.C.) – Friday’s Presidents Cup will host five more matches. The format changes to Four-balls. This is the format where the International Team has performed better in its history. Presidents Cup: Thursday Foursomes match recaps Team at the Presidents Cup This format sees two-man teams from each team face off, each playing his own ball. The team with the lowest hole score is the one that scores the lowest between the two teams. Here are match previews for Friday’s Fourballs session. MATCH 6 Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (U.S.) vs. Adam Scott/Cam Davis (Intl. ), 11:35 am Eastern U.S. Spieth and Thomas will be leading the team, one of their strongest duos. They beat Sungjae Im (Foursomes) 2 & 1. The American duo, a powerhouse of their own, beat Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele earlier in the week. It was therefore no surprise that U.S. Captain Davis Love III decided to keep the Americans together. International Captain Trevor Immelman, who paired Australians Adam Scott with Cam Davis, did not find this to be the case. Splitting Davis and Si Woo Kim was a difficult decision. They had put the last point on the board for the International Team’s underdog. They birdied the last three holes and won their match against Sam Burns and Scott Scheffler. Instead of playing with Kim the Presidents Cup rookie Davis will partner Scott. Scott and Hideki Matsuyama lost their first round match against Cantlay & Schauffele 6 and 5. Tomorrow is a new day, so four-ball, or “best-ball”, is something that is very different. Player records: Spieth (9-5-1 overall; 3-2-1 Four-ball); Thomas (7-2-2 overall; 4-0-0 Four-ball); Scott (16-23-6 overall; 4-9-4 Four-ball); Davis (1-0-0 overall; 0-0-0 Four-ball). MATCH 7 Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns US vs. Sungjae I/Sebastian Munoz International, 11:50 a.m. Eastern. Despite the U.S. Team’s loss to Cam Davis and Si woo Kim in Foursomes on Thursday, long-time friends Scheffler/Burns will run the match in Friday’s Fourball format and make quick amends. World No. 1 Scheffler, world No. Twelve Burns won seven PGA TOUR titles together last season, qualifying them for the Presidents Cup. They lost the last four holes of Thursday’s alternate shot format. However, they will try to channel their strength and make birdies in Friday’s format that encourages aggression. Scheffler was ranked No. 2. TOUR’s birdie average was 4.6. Burns was No. 8 (4.33). 8 (4.33). South Korean player Corey Conners was paired with Im in Thursday’s Foursomes. He lost to Thomas and Spieth, 2 and 1. Munoz will be looking for a veteran presence in his maiden Presidents Cup match. The Colombian will bring plenty of energy to his first competitive action since last month’s BMW Championship. Player records: Scheffler (0-1-0 overall; 0-0-0 Four-ball); Burns (0-1-0 overall; 0-0-0 Four-ball); Im (3-2-1 overall; 2-0-0 Four-ball); Munoz (0-0-0 overall; 0-0-0 Four-ball) MATCH 8 Kevin Kisner/Cameron Young (U.S.) vs. Mito Pereira/Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Intl. , 12:05 p.m. Eastern This pairing from the United States might be the ultimate ham and egg. Kisner is open about the possibility that his modest power off of the tee (171st in TOUR driving distance last season) could lead to a dink and dunk at Quail Hollow. Young is a top-ranked power player in golf, as he demonstrated on No. The 1 tee Thursday was marked by a bold line down the right side fairway into the dogleg. This attracted a lot of applause from the fans. As a rookie, the Wake Forest alum was ranked third on TOUR for driving distance. U.S. Captain Davis Love III made it a point to highlight the unassuming Young’s enthusiasm for this week’s matches in his post-match press conference. He won with a 2-and-1 win in Thursday’s Foursomes along Collin Morikawa. Kisner, a budding American hero, should keep the energy going after he has rested for Day 1. Pereira will try to rebound quickly from the bitter loss alongside Taylor Pendrith in Thursday Foursomes. The match was tied at No. 18 tee, Pereira hit an immediate hook left to make it bogey. Tony Finau/Max Homa won the match for a 1 up win. South African Bezuidenhout will be playing in his maiden Presidents Cup match. The pair will attempt to channel Captain Immelman’s resilience and score a crucial point for the International side. Player records: Kisner (2-0-2 overall; 1-0-0 Four-ball); Young (1-0-0 overall; 0-0-0 Four-ball); Pereira (0-1-0 overall; 0-0-0 Four-ball); Bezuidenhout (0-0-0 overall; 0-0-0 Four-ball) MATCH 9 Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Tom Kim (Intl. , 12:20 p.m. Eastern. While Foursomes are all about hitting good shots and not making costly mistakes, Fourball or best-ball play doesn’t require you to make any birdies. Hideki Matsuyama, eight-time PGA TOUR champion, and rookie Tom Kim could be the International Team’s rock stars in this area. Kim, who is 20 years old, won the Wyndham Championship last month with a final round score of 61. Matsuyama was similarly prolific, going 63-63 over the weekend to reach a playoff at Sony Open in Hawaii. He won the playoff with an eagle on his first playoff hole. They will be up against Schauffele and Cantlay, who together won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans earlier this year. Cantlay/Schauffele defeated Adam Scott and Matsuyama 6 and 5 in round 1 to bring their Foursomes record up to 3-0-0. Player records: Cantlay (4-2-0 overall; 0-2-0 Four-ball); Schauffele (4-2-0 overall; 0-2-0 Four-ball); Kim (0-1-0 overall; 0-0-0 Four-ball); Matsuyama (6-8-4 overall; 3-2-2 Four-ball). MATCH 10 Billy Horschel/Max Homa, U.S. vs. Corey Conners/Taylor Pendrith, Intl. , 12:35 p.m. Eastern Since Pendrith was named as the captain’s choice for the International contingent in June of last year, Canada has been eagerly awaiting this pairing. Pendrith and Conners both hail from Ontario, and were college colleagues at Kent State. Pendrith was best man at each other’s weddings while Conners were in South Florida during the COVID-19 hiatus in spring 2020. Pendrith is known for his power, while Conners is more known for his precision. Friday’s format, which promotes aggression, will see them trying to succeed with each style. Captain Love laughed as Horschel, despite being absent on Thursday, was full of energy. He recalls Horschel hopping from match to match with a variety friends at different junctures. That energy will be a part of his Presidents Cup debut match Friday with Homa who earned a point for the U.S. Finau was paired with Homa in their debut Foursomes match. Homa stated that having a partner can change the nerves a bit. “My adrenaline is way higher so I have to manage it a bit better. It was an amazing scene.
By: Staff
Title: Presidents Cup match previews: Friday Four-balls
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/news/2022/09/22/presidents-cup-match-previews-friday-four-balls-quail-hollow.html
Published Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2022 12:30:00 -0400
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