Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners will take to the field in the first day of competition for the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal on Thursday morning.
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It is the international duo composed of Jason Day Byeong Hun An who will open hostilities against Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau in the first group.
Captain Mike Weir has decided to opt for the “4-ball” game format as the curtain-raiser for the prestigious tournament pitting his Internationals against the Americans.
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Remember that in match play, the “4-ball” format requires that each player plays his ball at each hole. The lowest score is recorded on the team card. And the lowest score in the duel wins the hole. At the end of the duel, the winning team wins a point. If there is a tie, each team records half a point.
After announcing his pairings, captain Mike Weir explained that he had analyzed the possibilities of sending one of his three Canadians into the fray from the first group in order to galvanize the crowd and put them behind his team early.
The reasons?
“We have to respect the pairs and the duels. We held our discussions internally to place a Canadian on the first group, but we kept our plan. We didn’t want to do it for nothing.”
He therefore sends the Australian veteran who is making his fifth appearance at the tournament. Day has three career wins in this format of the game while An is unbeaten in his two outings in similar circumstances.
In the American clan, captain Jim Furyk had to explain his decision to separate Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantley, a duo that has done damage in team competition for five years.
“It’s a bit known that they are no longer able to feel each other,” he first joked about the two friends.
“No kidding, we’re trying to maximize our team,” he immediately continued more seriously. “With eight or 10 players on the course, we have to maximize the potential and form the five best groups.
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“There are several reasons why we make this kind of decision. We know they go well together and they play often in practice rounds. But we have to know how to separate them to maximize the potential of the team.”
No. 1 enters the scene
In the second match, veteran Adam Scott and fellow Australian Min Woo Lee will face Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala. Next up will be Korean duo Tom Kim and Sungjae Im against American headliner Scottie Scheffler, who will be flanked by Russell Henley.
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Canadian Taylor Pendrith will team up with South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout against an interesting duo formed by Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark.
The other representative of the maple leaf, Corey Conners, will have to sharpen his Japanese language as he teams up with the highest ranked player on his team on the world stage, Hideki Matsuyama. He occupies the 7th rank in the world. They will face Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns.
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This means that Canadian Mac Hughes and Korean Si Woo Kim will have to encourage their teammates from the sidelines during this first day. Brian Harman and Max Homa will do the same for the Americans.
Part by part formula
“4-ball” format
Match #1 – 11:35 a.m.
INT: Jason Day/Byeong Hun An
USA: Xander Schauffele/Tony Finau
Match #2 – 11:53
INT: Adam Scott/Min Woo Lee
USA: Collin Morikawa/Sahith Theegala
Match #3 – 12:11 p.m.
INT: Tom Kim/Sung Jae Im
USA: Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley
Match #4 – 12:29 p.m.
INT: Taylor Pendrith/Christiaan Bezuidenhout
USA: Wyndham Clar/ Keegan Bradley
Match #5 – 12:47 p.m.
INT: Hideki Matsuyama/Corey Conners
USA: Patrick Cantlay/Sam Burns
