01메디나를 사로잡은 베테랑과 신예의 환상적인 앙상블
베테랑 저스틴 토머스와 기대주 잭슨 코이분이 메디나에서 팀을 이뤄 완벽한 호흡을 선보였다. 두 선수는 경기가 진행되는 동안 차별화된 조화를 이루며 코스 위에서 강렬한 인상을 남겼다.
풍부한 경험을 갖춘 토머스의 안정적인 경기 운영과 코이분의 패기 넘치는 플레이가 조화를 이루며 시너지 효과를 극대화했다. 서로의 단점을 보완하고 장점을 살린 두 선수의 호흡은 단연 돋보였다.
이번 메디나에서의 활약은 토머스와 코이분이 서로에게 최적의 파트너임을 증명해 보인 계기가 됐다. 완벽한 콤비로 자리매김한 이들의 플레이는 경기장을 찾은 팬들에게 깊은印象을 남겼다.
02Original (English) — PGA TOUR
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MEDINAH, Ill. – Jackson Koivun's much-anticipated Presidents Cup debut began with a vicious club twirl.
Of course. The kid bending the golf world to his will had just tackled one of the most nerve-racking tee shots in golf with ease, striping it down Medinah Country Club’s first fairway.
“There’s been too much practice,” one U.S. support member told me as we walked off the tee box. “He’s ready to play. He’s ready to show he belongs.”
After one swing, it was hard to argue with their logic.
What happened next was a reminder that surviving the first tee shot is only the first hurdle. He still had 70 more swings to make.
Koivun dumped his approach in the greenside bunker, hit a poor shot from there and walked off the hole without hitting a putt. His partner, Justin Thomas, assured the Americans a par and a halved opening hole.
Koivun’s next swing was his worst – a ball that started left and never recovered, sailing out of bounds. He hit another into the fairway bunker, and his shot from there was headed out of bounds before careening off the wood fence back into play. Koivun didn’t putt for the second straight hole. Suddenly that U.S. support staffer was hard to find.
The vagaries of match play aren’t for the faint of heart, and the ballyhooed rookie experienced every emotion in a 15-minute span.
Welcome to the Presidents Cup, Jackson.
Yet, somehow, the Americans walked to the third hole tied with the Internationals. How?
U.S. Captain Brandt Snedeker's strategy worked. As the week went on, it became increasingly clear that Koivun and Thomas would be tied at the hip. The logic was simple. Pair the young phenom with the formerly young phenom turned longest-tenured member of the U.S. Team room. Thomas could prop Koivun up as he experienced the inevitable emotional swings of match play, biding time until Koivun got comfortable.
That theory looks pretty good through one session.
Thomas was the U.S. Team’s best statistical player, per Data Golf. Koivun was second-worst, but he holed several notable putts that kept momentum on their side, leading to the largest margin of victory, a 4-and-3 win. It was the Americans’ first point of the day.
Koivun will need to improve, but Thomas will insulate him, who, at least for one session, looked in peak form.
That sparked another thought: Perhaps this pairing isn’t just beneficial for Koivun. Maybe Thomas is invigorated by the challenge of taking a young player under his wing. It’s a role Thomas has never played, partly because he’s never been considered the elder statesman until now. It was certainly the case for Justin Rose in recent Ryder Cups, most notably shepherding Robert MacIntyre around Marco Simone in 2023.
As their match wrapped at Medinah’s 15th, Smylie Kaufman pulled Thomas aside for a TV interview. Thomas made sure to track down Koivun to join it.
“He's really impressive to watch, and I'm really happy he's on my team,” Thomas said. “Yeah, it was cool to watch him do his thing out there and show up in some pretty big moments.”
More big moments are ahead.
Here’s a quick rundown of the other Thursday results. The U.S. leads 3-2:
It’s Foursomes Friday! Historically, the Americans have dominated this session. They hold a 34-point advantage over the Internationals over the event’s history. However, the Internationals swept the Friday Foursomes session in 2024.
Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns vs. Corey Conners/Nick Taylor (2:05 p.m. ET)
The Americans are running it back. Scheffler and Burns are out first again, looking to build on their win. Burns called it a sigh of relief to finally get his first win alongside Scheffler. The duo has never won together in Foursomes, though (0-3-0). Still, Conners didn’t play well, and this will be Taylor’s first Presidents Cup match.
Sungjae Im/Hideki Matsuyama vs. Russell Henley/Jacob Bridgeman (2:19 p.m. ET)
Henley and Bridgeman get their first action after sitting Thursday’s session, and they’re up against one of the toughest International duos. Im and Matsuyama delivered the most lopsided result in 2024, beating Schauffele and Cantlay 7 and 6.
Collin Morikawa/Wyndham Clark vs. Ryan Fox/Min Woo Lee (2:33 p.m. ET)
The Americans are running it back with this pairing, too. Clark carried Morikawa for much of Thursday, but that can’t happen in alt-shot. Foursomes has not been Morikawa’s strong suit either, 4-5-0 lifetime in the format.
That said, neither Fox nor Lee played particularly well on Thursday.
Adam Scott/Christian Bezuidenhout vs. Justin Thomas/Cameron Young
Thomas and Young played Four-ball together at the Ryder Cup, but this is a new format for them. Yet it seems Thomas can play with anyone. He is 11-0-2 between Four-ball and Foursomes at the Presidents Cup.
Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele vs. Tom Kim/Si Woo Kim
This is the session's blockbuster match and a rematch of their epic duel on Saturday night in Montreal, otherwise known as the “Night, night” match.
The Kims established themselves as the Internationals’ alpha duo with a comfortable win on Thursday over Cantlay and Chris Gotterup. But playing Cantlay and Schauffele together is a different animal. They’re 4-1-0 in Foursomes at the Presidents Cup.
Paul’s prediction: U.S. wins the session 3.5-1.5 and leads 6.5-3.5 overall