Presidents Cup 2017: Tee times, pairings, and TV schedule for Thursday

There is nothing in professional golf like the team match play events. We get just one per year on a respective tour, whether it’s the Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup or in this week’s case, the Presidents Cup.

There are more prestigious titles in golf but because we’re hit over the head week after week with 72-hole stroke play events in the most individual sport there is, these weeks can pull us in more than just about any other on the schedule. The Presidents Cup does not have the history or competitiveness of the Ryder Cup. It will always be the sort of neglected little brother to the Ryder Cup, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth ignoring.

The U.S. has dominated the Presidents Cup, going 1-9-1 since the competition started in the mid-’90s. Since 2000, a big reason for the dominance is their success in the Foursomes format. Just like the Ryder Cup, most of these matches are all two-man games. Sunday is the only singles session, where 12 USA players go out one-on-one against 12 Internationals. For the two-man games, there are two separate formats: Foursomes and Four-ball.

Foursomes is probably more intuitively known as the alternate shot format. The two-man teams play only one ball from tee into the hole, alternating turns. One player tees off on all the odd holes and another off all the even holes. In the Four-ball format, there are four balls in play, with each player using his own ball from tee to green and the best of the two going up against the best of their opponent’s two.

Foursomes is obviously a more dramatic adjustment from what the players are used to each week in an individual sport. There’s the potential for using a different make and model golf ball than you’re used to, and so much communication is needed as the two work one ball around a course. The Internationals have been whipped in this format and that’s been the difference in so many U.S. wins. (Ironically enough, the U.S. has struggled in this format in the Ryder Cup against the Euros.)

With the recent American dominance in Foursomes, that was obviously the format that USA captain Steve Stricker was going with to open the competition this year as they look to race out to another early lead on home soil. Here’s the match schedule for the first day at the Presidents Cup:

Golf Channel and its sister NBC will have the coverage all week, as one of their biggest stretches of the season comes to a close. CBS may have more PGA Tour events on its schedule, but NBC boasts the Florida swing, The Players, The Open, and then the last three legs of the FedExCup. That’s a strong slate that concludes, under the current agreements, with either the Presidents or Ryder Cup at the end of each year.

The Prez Cup being back in the States this year is obviously preferable for the American networks. The International sites rotate all around the world, with Australia prominently involved and leading to middle-of-the-night broadcasts. That was the case in 2015 as well, when the Presidents Cup made its first trip to Asia and the course at Incheon, Korea.

Golf Channel will take the reins for the entirety of the first two days, starting with a five-hour block on Thursday from 1 to 6 p.m. ET. Here are your media options:

1 to 6 p.m. — Golf Channel

1 to 6 p.m. — Golf Channel simulcast stream

Noon to 6 p.m. — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 93/208 and streamed here)