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

If you have ever wondered what it might be like to combine the power and talents of Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson into some sort of super golfer, Wednesday night may be the closest we’ll get. Spieth and DJ, perhaps the two most talented American players going right now, will pair up in the first session at the Presidents Cup.

The session will utilize the foursomes format, otherwise known as alternate shot. So Spieth will get to play his ball from some of those massive bombs off the tee that DJ regularly hits 30, 40, and even 50 yards past him week-to-week on Tour. And DJ will get to watch Spieth bury those moderate-length putts he, uh, sometimes leaves himself up on the greens. The foursomes pairings for Wednesday night’s opening session are not all the most intuitive or put strength with strength, but the DJ-Spieth duo is definitely the headliner and they will anchor the session against Internationals Danny Lee and Marc Leishman.

The primary reason the Presidents Cup has failed to gain the momentum of the modern day Ryder Cup is a lack of competitiveness. The International side has won just once, and when they lose, they often lose big and everything is a foregone conclusion before Sunday singles tee off. They get in huge holes from all these two-man sessions. One way the International side has tried to gain an edge is by cutting down on the amount of matches in these early sessions, and captain Nick Price’s lobbying was successful this year. Instead of the full six-match session, when every single player tees it up the first day, Thursday’s foursomes will keep two from each team on the bench. This is an advantage for the Internationals, who cannot compete with the depth of the American side and often get exposed in the second half of the roster.

The five-match session will tee off Wednesday night in the eastern United States, and just after 11 a.m. local Thursday in Incheon, South Korea. There will be an opening ceremony of sorts a half hour before the first match. Then they will go at 10:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday night with 13-minute intervals between each tee time. Golf Channel will have the broadcast from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. ET.

The alternate-shot format generally leads to a quicker pace of play. There are, obviously, just two balls in play and less waiting for four players to play up to the green. While strategy can sometimes slow things down in spots, match play can also move more quickly than normal medal play because not everyone is putting out and concessions can happen early in a hole. The entire five-match session should last five hours, at the most.

Here’s the full match schedule for the opening session: