2009 Presidents Cup: Thursday preview

October 8, 12:32 AMHartford Golf ExaminerTim Gavrich

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At last, the much-anticipated 2009 Presidents Cup is upon the golf world. The groups for tomorrow’s six foursomes (alternate shot) matches have been announced, and they are as follows (ET):

3:10 PM: Tim Clark & Mike Weir (Int’l) vs. Anthony Kim & Phil Mickelson (USA)
3:22 PM: Adam Scott & Ernie Els (Int’l) vs. Hunter Mahan & Sean O’Hair (USA)
3:34 PM: Vijay Singh & Robert Allenby (Int’l) vs. Lucas Glover & Stewart Cink (USA)
3:46 PM: Angel Cabrera & Camilo Villegas (Int’l) vs. Kenny Perry & Zach Johnson (USA)
3:58 PM: Geoff Ogilvy & Ryo Ishikawa (Int’l) vs. Tiger Woods & Steve Stricker (USA)
4:10 PM: Retief Goosen & Y.E. Yang (Int’l) vs. Jim Furyk & Justin Leonard (USA)

I am very pleased with USA captain Fred Couples’ decision to pair Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson, two very aggressive, exciting players who had success in the Ryder Cup last year. Mickelson has more momentum than any player in the field, having won the Tour Championship two weeks ago. Kim, who’s not had the best last few months, should be able to elevate his game to the level of Mickelson, who has played in every Presidents Cup (as has Vijay Singh) to date. Their International team opponents—Weir and Clark—are the opposite sorts of player: straight, but not long off the tee. If the American make a couple early mistakes, they could find themselves in a bind early on, it may prove difficult to recover. Likewise, if Weir and Clark hit some wayward shots at the outset, Kim and Mickelson should be able to pounce. Don’t be surprised if this match is fairly lopsided in one or the other direction.

The other match that stands out to me is the Cabrera/Villegas vs. Perry/ Johnson affair. This time, it’s the International team that contains the long hitters while the Americans will play first from many fairways (though Perry is not a short hitter at all). Cabrera, especially, is a streaky type of player whose game is well-suited to this type of competition. If he can start to get on a roll, he and Villegas will be tough to beat.
Presidents Cup television coverage begins tomorrow at 3 PM on the Golf Channel. Enjoy the action from Harding Park in San Francisco!

Cheers.