It is advantage USA after the opening day of the Presidents Cup and the Internationals will need to fight back on day two of the event else they will be under huge pressure come the weekend.
The Americans took four of the first day foursomes to take a commanding 4-1 lead but the Internationals will take some solace that in Presidents Cup history they have the better overall record in the fourballs which is the format Friday’s play will be over.
As with the first day there are five matches on Friday and the Internationals will be desperate to win the session and cut into the deficit ahead of a double session day on Saturday.
Jay Haas is keen to keep the pressure on the Internationals as he has put out the world number one in the first match on Friday. He partners Dustin Johnson again and that could be a fearsome combination.
Nick Price responded by going with his only winning pair on the opening day in Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace and that should ensure we get a great match here. If Dustin Johnson is on form then with Spieth likely to plod along nicely the big hitting American could tear this match apart but Grace and Oosthuizen are birdie machines so I’m looking forward to watching that game.
The second match of the day sees the Korean born duo of Danny Lee and Sang-Moon Bae out for the hosts. Danny Lee was attacked by nerves on the opening day and never got going at all. Price will hope having a fellow Korean alongside him will make the difference but it will need to.
Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker were always going to have a good vibe on the opening day given the amount of golf they have played together and after getting off to a fast start they motored away from Thongchai Jaidee and Anirban Lahiri.
The American pair will be full of confidence after their play on Thursday and against a shot shy Lee and a Bae who could be rusty after sitting out the opening day I fancy the Americans to get this one done.
Match three is a real heavyweight match. Nick Price has loaded the dice and put arguably his two best players out together in Jason Day and Adam Scott and you know he’ll be desperate for that point.
They take on Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson who combined for a 2up win over Day and Steven Bowditch on the opening day. Johnson’s iron play was something to behold on Thursday and you sense he’ll go well again here. The key will be whether Mickelson can stay in play enough to assist The Open champion.
I would expect the Internationals to play well there but there is plenty of pressure on them here so I’m reluctant to back them even though they should win.
It could be bombs away in the penultimate match of the day with Marc Leishman and Steven Bowditch combining to take on JB Holmes and Bubba Watson. Holmes and Watson looked solid for the opening nine holes on Thursday and eventually crawled over the line. You would think they will make a number of birdies but both can be erratic so they’ll need to avoid the bogeys.
Leishman and Bowditch played some good shots on Thursday and they might well combine to good effect here. I’m not going to back them to win but if there is a surprise on the Friday card it could well come here.
Finally on Friday, Jay Haas sends out the two men who sat out the opening day in Bill Haas and Chris Kirk. If Kirk is fit this should be a solid combination but if he isn’t then Haas might be taking a risk.
They go up against Thongchai Jaidee and Charl Schwartzel who is getting off his sick bed to begin his Presidents Cup having sat out the opening day. Jaidee wasn’t his usual self on the opening day but playing his own ball should see him improve. Schwartzel could be anything but at least he’s long enough to get home on the key holes.
With doubts over the fitness of both Kirk and Schwartzel this is automatically a no bet game for me so I’ll stick with just the one bet on Friday which is on the Fowler/Walker pairing.
Back R.Fowler & J.Walker to beat D.Lee & S-M.Bae for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Boylesports
