Presidents Cup 2015: Tee times, pairings and match schedule for Sunday singles

There will be Sunday singles session at the Presidents Cup that’s not largely irrelevant. This event has failed to gain the traction of the Ryder Cup because it’s been so one-sided through its short 20-year history. The International team has not only won just once, but they’ve repeatedly failed to keep things close from the very start. By the time it got to Sunday singles, even a 12-point session wasn’t going to be enough to make the final day competitive and worth monitoring closely.

This year in Korea, however, the Internationals have pushed the heavily favored and loaded American roster for three straight sessions. The opening session on Thursday was a disaster as Nick Price’s group fell in a three-point hole and it looked like this was going the way of all the other Presidents Cups. But they cut into that deficit on Friday and then halved both sessions on Saturday. As a result, we got to Sunday singles with the US in front by a point at 9.5 to 8.5. It’s the smallest margin this deep in the event since it was tied at the start of singles in 2005.

The International roster is never as deep as their counterparts, which you would think might be a major disadvantage in singles when there’s no hiding lesser players on the bench and no relying on a partner. But the singles format has been dead-even over the last 10 years. The record since 2005 is 28-28-4 and so Price and his group have to be encouraged, especially given the fact that his team is so close without Jason Day and Adam Scott having won a match.

There are a few different strategies for setting the lineup for Sunday singles. You want to put some strength at the front, and if you’re in a big hole, you want to put almost all your best players at the top to try and make it close and amp up the pressure for the last few matches. The scenario everyone wanted, however, was No. 1 Jordan Spieth vs. No. 2 Jason Day in the final match of the event. The problem is that these cups almost never come down to that final singles match. The winner needs to get to 15.5 points and that often happens before those last few matches. You’d rather not have your top guns playing what could amount to a meaningless match.

Here’s the full lineup for the final session. After Saturday’s session ended in total darkness, singles tee times were bumped up almost 90 minutes to ensure we get an on-time Sunday night finish in Korea: