01체스 게임을 방불케 하는 고도의 전략 대결
프레지던츠컵에서 미국 팀과 인터내셔널 팀 간의 본격적인 맞대결이 시작되며 대회의 열기가 뜨거워지고 있습니다.
양 팀은 마치 고도의 체스 게임을 두듯 대진 구성과 선수 조합을 두고 치열한 수싸움을 벌이고 있습니다.
매 라운드마다 펼쳐질 양 팀의 치밀한 전략과 선수들의 플레이가 이번 대회의 승패를 가를 핵심 변수로 떠오르고 있습니다.
02Original (English) — PGA TOUR
Get the Signature Scroll – and the rest of PGA TOUR's newsletters, including The Connect, Wire to Wire and The Early Card – directly in your inbox. Subscribe today!
This marks the last week of Signature Scrolls this season, and we’re in store for a great one with the Presidents Cup at Medinah …
MEDINAH, Ill. – The most fascinating moment of the Presidents Cup so far was contained in a two-minute period where nobody spoke and no shots were hit.
One of the great parts of the Presidents Cup is that unlike any other team event, we get to watch the pairings sausage get made. At the Ryder Cup, each captain sends their full teams for the upcoming session independently, only to find out later who they are matched up against.
Here at the Presidents Cup, each captain alternates in announcing a pairing, with the other then able to react and pick exactly who they want to play against ... which sometimes leads to fascinating moments like what happened Wednesday.
U.S. Captain Brandt Snedeker and International Captain Geoff Ogilvy breezed through their opening pairings, the latter sending out Min Woo Lee and Sunjae Im, and Snedeker countering with Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns. Snedeker then announced Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele as his second team.
That’s when things got interesting.
On the surface, it’s a mild surprise. Young and Schauffele didn’t play together at the Ryder Cup last fall, and Schauffele has only ever played Four-ball with two players at the Presidents Cup: Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau (though he’s had a few different partners at the Ryder Cup).
If it didn’t surprise the Internationals, they at least saw it as a pivotal inflection point. Ogilvy and his assistants gathered around and spoke in hushed silence for more than a minute, deliberating who they would counter.
Another reporter looked to me as we waited and asked if this lengthy chat was normal. “Not really,” I responded. At least not this long, I thought to myself, my eyes darting from one huddle to the other, scanning the faces of everyone involved.
Ogilvy ultimately countered with Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune, then deliberated at length again before announcing Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria as his third pairing.
“I don't know, it's the first time I've done this,” Ogilvy said when asked about the moment, cracking a wry smile.
Neither captain would concede if they were actually caught off guard by anything the other did, but their actions were more revealing than any answers. The chess match had begun.
After months of deliberating teams, developing counter strategies and debating pairings, it can only do so much at this point. Now it’s just about the golf.
Speaking of that … let’s preview Thursday’s matches.
Let’s get into the matchups. That’s all that matters at this point. While everyone is predicting a U.S. rout, I’d caution against expecting that immediately. While the U.S. dominates the Presidents Cup, they don’t dominate the Four-ball format. Over the entirety of the event, the U.S. only holds a +5 advantage in Four-ball. It’s the International Team's best format, by far.
OK, let’s get into it.
Match 1 (12:35 p.m. ET): Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns (U.S.) vs. Min Woo Lee/Sungjae Im (International)
Snedeker deferred picking first and said there was a scenario where Scheffler and Burns didn’t lead off, but that’s hard to believe. Snedeker sends out the best player in the world, clearly looking to send a message early. While Scheffler and Burns seem like a natural pair, they’ve never won a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup match together (0-3-1). Despite that, it’s hard to pick against the world No. 1, especially at home.
Match 2 (12:53 p.m. ET): Cameron Young/Xander Schauffele (U.S.) vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Ryo Hisatsune (International)
You shouldn’t be surprised to see Schauffele and Cantlay split in this format. They didn’t play Four-ball together in Montreal and never have at the Ryder Cup. Instead, Schauffele draws Young, the lone bright spot on the American Ryder Cup team a year ago. Meanwhile, a really cool all-Japanese pairing. Hisatsune was beaming about the possibility of playing with his hero. And this will be the first time Matsuyama plays with a fellow countryman in this event.
Match 3 (1:11 p.m. ET): Justin Thomas/Jackson Koivun (U.S.) vs. Corey Conners/Nico Echavarria (International)
Here’s the pairing we’ve been waiting for! Koivun makes his debut alongside Thomas, a formality if you were paying attention to the practice round groupings. How many sessions will Koivun play now? The last time we’ve seen someone this young compete, it was Jordan Spieth, who played four sessions in his debut in 2013.
Match 4 (1:29 p.m. ET): Wyndham Clark/Collin Morikawa (U.S.) vs. Ryan Fox/Adam Scott (International)
Another new pairing on the U.S. side. Clark and Morikawa were part of a few teams together but never partners. It’s one that feels good on paper – the steady Morikawa allowing Clark to bludgeon Medinah.
Yet there’s something about Fox that screams great match play player, and playing alongside Adam Scott in his maiden voyage feels like a great tandem.
Match 5 (1:47 p.m. ET): Chris Gotterup/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) vs. Tom Kim/Si Woo Kim (International)
We knew it was coming at some point, and the Internationals opted to send them out last. The return of the dynamic Kim duo is on. The last time they played together, Si Woo Kim was dancing around the green, celebrating with Steph Curry’s patented “Night, Night” celebration. Cantlay was there for that match too and ultimately got the last laugh. Can the Kims get revenge?
Paul’s Thursday prediction: U.S. leads 3-2