The first day of the Presidents Cup was a topsy turvy affair under the pressurised format of foursomes. We saw some good golf and some indifferent stuff but at the end of the day it is the USA who escaped with a two point lead which means that the Internationals need to fight back in the fourballs on Friday.
As with the opening day we have five matches on the course and the captains have combined for a couple of cracking matches in particular over the day and one or two which could just be pivotal to the end outcome.
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Patrick Reed & Jordan Spieth vs Adam Hadwin & Hideki Matsuyama
Match tees off at 16.35 BST
The American dream pair of Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth are given the honour of leading the side off on Friday when they take on the new pairing of Adam Hadwin and Hideki Matsuyama over the 18 holes.
I don’t know what it is about this tournament but it does not agree with Matsuyama. His record in it is ordinary and now he is given the role of leading a rookie around. To me this could be an accident waiting to happen especially against the comfortable American pairing. I didn’t think they were at their best on Thursday but their win should give them the confidence to get the job done here.
Prediction: USA win
Justin Thomas & Rickie Fowler vs Branden Grace & Louis Oosthuizen
Match tees off at 16.50 BST
The pick of the second day matches comes in the second game of it when the marquee Internationals pairing of Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen take on a decent American pair of Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler.
Both these pairings won on the opening day so should be feeling confident heading into this encounter. There is much to like about the American pair who are two of the best players in the world right now but the South Africans have shown in the past that they are a formidable pairing regardless of the format.
The South Africans went round in four under par on Thursday which is top class golf. In what should be an absolute belter of a match they can edge out a hugely important win for their side.
Prediction: Internationals win
Kevin Kisner & Phil Mickelson vs Marc Leishman & Jason Day
Match tees off at 17.05 BST
This match was so good on the first day that the captains want to see it again. It took Jason Day and Marc Leishman an age to get going in the first round but having been three down at one stage they went to the 17th hole one up before Kevin Kisner and Phil Mickelson fought back for a fair half.
Mickelson kept the ball in play on Thursday which was surprising but I’m not convinced that is going to happen throughout this round and this pair might be relying on Kisner more often than they would like. I don’t believe that Day and Leishman will be as poor out of the traps playing their own balls and there are stacks of birdies in this pairing. I think they’ll get the win they should have got on Thursday.
Prediction: Internationals win
Charley Hoffman & Kevin Chappell vs Anirban Lahiri & Charl Schwartzel
Match tees off at 17.20 BST
The rookie American pairing of Charley Hoffman and Kevin Chappell get their first taste of team golf when they take on Anirban Lahiri and Charl Schwartzel in the penultimate match of the afternoon.
This will be the first chance Lahiri gets to put the nightmare of two years ago behind him and you would think he would be motivated to do that. He has been given a solid partner in Schwartzel too in a side which could be tough to beat. That said Chappell could be underrated here. He holds the course record around this track and Hoffman is a birdie machine when he is on. In a match which could go either way I’ll sit on the fence and predict a half here.
Prediction: Halved
Brooks Koepka & Dustin Johnson vs Jhonattan Vegas & Adam Scott
Match tees off at 17.35 BST
The last two US Open champions combine to round off the day for the Americans when Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson go up against Jhonattan Vegas and Adam Scott who were better than I expected on the opening day.
Vegas looked to be enjoying himself which is part of the battle in these things and you get the feeling he’ll have plenty of birdies in him on Friday. He might need them though because Scott looked slightly off his game. Even if Scott improves the Internationals have their work cut out here against a pair of big hitting birdie machines. Both drive this ball so well that I expect the USA to claim this one.
Prediction: USA win
Tips
Back B.Grace & L.Oosthuizen to beat R.Fowler & J.Thomas for a 3/10 stake at 2.70 with Betfred
Back them here:
Back M.Leishman & J.Day to beat K.Kisner & P.Mickelson for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Boylesports
Back them here:
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