Tag: Ernie Els

Presidents Cup: Breaking down Day 3 four-ball pairings

Captain Tiger Woods is benching Tiger Woods for Day 3’s morning four-ball session. Suffice to say, it has nothing to do with his play.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Captain Tiger Woods is benching Tiger Woods for Day 3’s morning four-ball session of four matches. Suffice to say, it has nothing to do with his play, which has been nothing short of brilliant through the opening two days, but rather a tactical decision, Captain Woods said.

“That was the game plan,” said the 43-year-old Woods, who had knee surgery only a few months ago. “It would be hard for me to go all the sessions.”

Expect Woods to reunite with Justin Thomas, who together are 2-0, in the afternoon foursomes session. But Thomas will team with Rickie Fowler in the opening match (Match 11) against Marc Leishman and Haotong Li, who will be making his Presidents Cup debut after sitting on Thursday and Friday. Thomas and Fowler made a formidable tandem at the 2017 Presidents Cup, recording a 2-0-1 record.

In the next two matches, Woods stuck with a couple of tandems he clearly likes together. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who capped off a dramatic 1-up victory with a birdie on 18 on Friday, are paired against Sungjae Im and Team USA killer Abraham Ancer, who is 2-0, in Match 12.

PRESIDENTS CUP: Scores | TV info | Photos | Day 3 four-ball tee times

Woods also entrusted Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson, who are winless in two matches and have only led for one hole in their 34 holes of competition.

“They have played well. Unfortunately, they just haven’t won points. But they have done all the little things right. It’s just a matter of having things go your way,” Woods said. “They are excited about being with one another, and they have handled everything extremely well.”

Reed and Simpson’s opponents in Match 13 will be Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan in a rematch of Day 1 in which the Internationals won 1 up thanks to a clutch putt by Matsuyama on 17. International Team Captain Ernie Els finally trotted out a repeat team after having 12 different pairings and he went back to the well for his final pairing – Adam Scott and Ben An – who will face Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau.

With only four matches per session on Saturday, four players have to sit on both sides. Els benched Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Hadwin, Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann. In addition to sitting himself, Woods benched Dustin Johnson, Gary Woodland and Bryson DeChambeau, who is sidelined for a second consecutive session.

“Leaving four players out is very difficult because we all know that all 12 guys are very talented. They can all play,” Woods said. “They are part of this team and part of the squad. For guys on our team who have been part of Ryder Cups, it’s very difficult.”

As it must have been difficult for Woods to bench his best player through two days – himself.

[jwplayer x5bfcXmZ-9JtFt04J]

[opinary poll=”will-the-us-rally-to-win-the-presidents-” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778016364,778016132,778016227,778016290]

Crunching the numbers paying off so far for Ernie Els at Presidents Cup

Eenie Els said he’s using 15th Club, a team of golf professionals, data experts and software engineers who apply intelligence to data.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Ernie Els might be sitting on the biggest secret in golf since Ben Hogan.

For those scoring at home, Hogan’s secret was in the dirt; as for Els, his secret he says is safe “until Sunday night,” but he’s already revealed that he’s using 15th Club, a team of golf professionals, data experts and software engineers who apply intelligence to data and helped 2018 European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn to win back the Cup.

It is a golden age for number crunchers in sports — the book and Oscar-nominated movie “Moneyball” gave advanced analytics mainstream acceptance. It slowly has infiltrated golf, a game overrun by numbers and statistics, and “stats guys” are becoming as important to tour pros as swing instructors and fitness trainers are. They parse statistics to create better training plans and arm the golfers with game plans for each week. Since 2016, both Ryder Cup captains have had their own stat team.

“It’s just the way the world is going these days,” said International Team assistant captain Geoff Ogilvy. “I think with so much information we have, you’d be silly not to access that. There’s been good results from other guys, other teams, and others doing it this way. So far, so good. I think everyone really is liking the process, if you like.”

PRESIDENTS CUP: Scores | TV info | Photos | Day 3 four-ball tee times

Indeed, they are. The International Team, which has a 1-10-1 record in the Presidents Cup, grabbed a 6½-3½ lead after Day 2. Els has the unenviable task of trying to unite players from nine countries and five different continents. He instituted a series of team gatherings as early as the 2018 U.S. Open, and created a new International shied as a team logo. (It’s the backdrop on his iPhone case.) But the most notable move has been his reliance on data analytics in forming his pairings rather than going more on gut and feel and the so-called “eye test.”

The old method essentially was a formula of pairing existing friendships, players from the same country or else based on past experience.

Captain Ernie Els at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

“The numbers haven’t shown exactly what I expected. It’s funny. A lot of the personalities I wanted together; the data shows they are not compatible,” Els told pgatour.com. “To convey that to the players has been tough. As you can expect, certain players want to play together — but I can show them if it is not compatible. Now the good thing is the guys are taking that in and actually listening to me whereas in previous years guys were quite adamant who they wanted to play with.”

Els paired five of his rookies with five veterans in the first four-ball session, putting Adam Scott with Ben An and Louis Ooshthuizen with Abraham Ancer, for instance, and turning them into formidable teams. But something in the data – so far it’s a secret – led Els to recast all five of his pairings for foursomes. He will send out repeat four-ball pairings on Day 3 in Scott-An and Hideki Matsuyama-C.T. Pan.

“Preparation, it is the old cliché. You just have got to prepare, have a good plan and try to install that in the team,” Els said. “We are not as deep as they are so we know we have had to come up with some good pairings.”

“As far as the team, everyone’s bought in completely,” Ogilvy said. “Everybody believes that they are with the right guy and everybody’s out in the right groups and the captain’s got a plan.”

Golf’s deep dive into advanced statistics got jump started with the creation of the Strokes Gained statistics in 2011, and others have followed in mining the data collected every week on ShotLink, the PGA Tour’s real-time scoring system that uses sophisticated measuring devices to track every shot by every player. That data can reveal a player’s strengths and weaknesses, provide structure to practices and evaluate how a player’s game stacks up with a particular tournament venue. U.S. Captain Tiger Woods said he has “delved into” advance analytics, too, saying, “you can see tendencies and you can see things that you probably didn’t see prior to that, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to turn it over to the athletes.”

So far, the players Els has entrusted to play together based on data have taken the ball and run to a 3-point lead.

[lawrence-related id=778016132,778016227,778016290,778016261]

Presidents Cup: Day 3 four-ball matchups, tee times

Day 3 of the 2019 Presidents Cup is Saturday in Melbourne, Friday night in North America. After two days of competition, the International team leads 6½-3½. The Americans trailed 4-1 after the Day 1 four-ball matches. Day 3 brings another round of …

Day 3 of the 2019 Presidents Cup is Saturday in Melbourne, Friday night in North America.

After two days of competition, the International team leads 6½-3½. The Americans trailed 4-1 after the Day 1 four-ball matches.

Day 3 brings another round of four-ball. There will be four groups in this wave, as opposed to five in each of the first two days.

Here’s the lineup, as announced by U.S. Captain Tiger Woods and International Captain Ernie Els:

7:02 a.m. local time, 3:02 p.m. ET

Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler (U.S.) vs. Marc Leishman and Haotong Li (International)

7:16 a.m. local time, 3:16 p.m. ET

Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) vs. Sungjae Im and Abraham Ancer (International)

7:30 a.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. ET

Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson (U.S.) vs. Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan (International)

7:44 a.m. local time, 3:44 p.m. ET

Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau (U.S.) vs. Adam Scott and Byeong-Hun An (International)

So Woods is choosing to sit himself as well as Gary Woodland, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson for the four-ball matches.

Ernie Els is sitting Louis Oosthuizen, Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith and Adam Hadwin.

Day 3 has two waves of action. Following the morning four-balls, Woods and Els will convene with their teams and vice captains and then announce selections for the Saturday afternoon foursomes. That will also be four teams each.

PRESIDENTS CUP: Photos | Scores | TV info

Saturday, Dec. 14 in Melbourne

7 a.m. local time/3 p.m. ET Friday: Third round, four-ball (format explained)

10 a.m./6 p.m. ET Friday: Captains’ pairings for Saturday evening matches

Noon/8 p.m. ET Friday: Fourth round, foursomes.

TV: 3 p.m. Friday – 2 a.m. ET Saturday, Golf Channel; 2:30 – 6 p.m. ET Saturday, NBC (replay)

Immediately following play: Captains’ pairings for Sunday’s singles matches announced.

[jwplayer x5bfcXmZ-9JtFt04J]

Presidents Cup: Day 2 foursomes matchups, tee times

The Presidents Cup opening-day four-ball matches are in the books and the International team leads the U.S. 4-1.

[jwplayer qXOe4NRA-9JtFt04J]

The Presidents Cup opening-day four-ball matches are in the books and the International team leads the U.S. 4-1, a series of Day 1 results that surprised most.

Now it’s on to Day 2, Friday in Australia and Thursday night live in prime time in North America.

About 60 minutes after the conclusion of the first round, U.S. Captain Tiger Woods and Internationals Captain Ernie Els met once again in the media center to announce their second-day selections.

The format for Day 2 will be foursomes.

Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen (International) vs. Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson (U.S.), 11:02 a.m.

Joaquin Niemann, Adam Hadwin (International) vs. Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele (U.S.), 11:15 a.m.

Abraham Ancer, Marc Leishman (International) vs. Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson (U.S.), 11:28 a.m.

Hideki Matsuyama, Byeong Hun An (International) vs. Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas (U.S.), 11:41 a.m.

Cameron Smith, Sungjae Im (International) vs. Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland (U.S.), 11:54 a.m.

These picks mean Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau will be on the U.S. sidelines while Haotong Li and C.T. Pan will be on the International bench.

PRESIDENTS CUP: Scores | Viewer’s guide | Photos

Foursomes (essentially alternate shot) works as follows: Each team consists of two players who play one ball in alternating order on each hole.

Overall, there will be nine matches of foursomes, nine matches of four-ball and 12 singles matches. Each match is worth one point. It takes 15 ½ points to win the Cup.

The Day 2 action starts 11 a.m. local time on Thursday, 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Golf Channel’s live TV coverage starts at 7 p.m.

Following Friday’s action, the captains will announce pairings for Saturday morning’s four-ball matches. Saturday afternoon will then feature another round of foursomes.

[jwplayer x5bfcXmZ-9JtFt04J]

[lawrence-related id=778015957,778016006,778015920]

[opinary poll=”after-day-1-who-do-you-think-wins-the-20″ customer=”golfweek”]

Internationals dominate four-ball at Presidents Cup, lead after first day

Despite Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas earning the first point, the Internationals dominated the four-ball format at the 2019 Presidents Cup.

[jwplayer qXOe4NRA-9JtFt04J]

After the first day of play in Australia at Royal Melbourne, it’s advantage Internationals.

Despite playing captain Tiger Woods and the Americans having the distinct advantage when it comes to talent, with ten of Team USA’s 12 players ranked inside the 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking, Ernie Els and his International squad hold a commanding 4-1 lead after Thursday’s (Wednesday night in the U.S.) four-ball matches.

“The golf course was very tough. The golf was excellent. I’m really proud of my team,” Els told Golf Channel soon after the conclusion to Day 1.

“We got a long way to go but this is an unbelievable start,” Els continued. “We know it’s a very tough side we’re playing.”

Woods and teammate Justin Thomas put the crucial first point on the board for Team USA, but it was all Internationals from then on.

PRESIDENTS CUP: Viewers guide | Best photos
MEET THE TEAMS: Team USA | Internationals

Here’s a recap of Day 1 at the Presidents Cup:

Four-ball matches

Thomas-Woods (U.S.) def. Leishman-Niemann (Int.), 4 and 3 

Tiger Woods carried the match in the early goings, making a pair of birdies on the opening holes and then chipping in for birdie at the par 3 fifth hole. Leishman and Niemann kept in the fight and battled throughout the opening nine, ultimately making the turn 2 down to captain Woods and Thomas. The Americans never trailed and it was Woods who put the first point on the board for the U.S., earning a 4 and 3 victory.

Hadwin-Im (Int.) def. Schauffele-Cantlay (U.S.), 1 up

A 21-year-old Presidents Cup rookie, Sungjae Im heard the first roar of the day playing in the second group after holing-out for eagle on No. 1. The Internationals and Americans each held a 1 up lead on the front nine before making the turn tied. The match stayed all square until an Adam Hadwin par at the 16th turned the match in the Internationals favor.

Scott-An (Int.) def. DeChambeau-Finau (U.S.), 2 and 1

There wasn’t much to see in this match. Bryson DeChambeau struggled and Tony Finau didn’t have enough to keep up with Adam Scott and Byeong-Hun An, who led for 14 of the 17 holes en route to a 2 and 1 win. The Americans only won two holes, both by Finau.

Matsuyama-Pan (Int.) def. Simpson-Reed (U.S.), 1 up

After his rules violation at the Hero World Challenge, Patrick Reed got an ear-full on the first tee after hitting into the bunker, with one heckler asking if a shovel was in his bag this week in Australia. It was a close match, with the Internationals holding a 2 up lead at the turn. Down the stretch, Captain America made a few clutch putts, evening the match with a birdie on No. 16. Hideki Matsuyama then re-claimed the lead on the 17th, leading to the 1 up win.

Ancer-Oosthuizen (Int.) def. Johnson-Woodand (U.S.), 4 and 3

The final match of the day was the second to end as Louis Oosthuizen and Abraham Ancer absolutely boat raced the high-powered pairing of Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland. Oosthuizen was on ace-alert at No. 3, hitting the shot of the day at Royal Melbourne’s opening par 3. Ancer and Oosthuizen went 4 up through five holes and the match never got closer than 3 up, ultimately ending 4 and 3 on the 15th.

[opinary poll=”after-day-1-who-do-you-think-wins-the-20″ customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778016020,778016013,778016006,778015920]

Tiger Woods picks himself, Justin Thomas to start Round 1 Four-ball Matches

The Day 1 pairings were announced by team captains Tiger Woods (U.S.) and Ernie Els (Internationals) on Wednesday at Royal Melbourne.

[jwplayer hrC67Fm5-9JtFt04J]

The 2019 Presidents Cup is here.

The Day 1 pairings were announced by team captains Tiger Woods (U.S.) and Ernie Els (Internationals) on Wednesday at Royal Melbourne.

Woods deferred the first choice.

Els then announced the selections of Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann.

Woods countered with Justin Thomas and himself, announcing “Tiger Woods” into the microphone.

From there, the captains alternated picks, 10 in all for the five four-ball matches.

First-round pairings

Match 1: Marc Leishman-Joaquin Niemann (Internationals) vs. Justin Thomas-Tiger Woods (U.S.)

Match 2: Xander Schauffele-Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) vs. Adam Hadwin-Sungjae Im (Internationals)

Match 3: Adam Scott and Byeong-Hun An (Internationals) vs. Bryson DeChambeau-Tony Finau (U.S.)

Match 4: Webb Simpson-Patrick Reed (U.S.) vs. Hideki Matsuyama-C.T. Pan (Internationals)

Match 5: Abraham Ancer-Louis Oosthuizen (Internationals) vs. Dustin Johnson-Gary Woodand (U.S.)

This leaves Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar on the sidelines for Team USA on the opening day.

International Team captain Ernie Els listens to captain of the U.S. team Tiger Woods speak during a news conference ahead of the Presidents Cup golf tournament in Melbourne on December 10, 2019.(Photo by William West/AFP via Getty Images)

MORE: Presidents Cup viewers guide | Photo gallery

The Day 1 four-ball format works as follows: Each team consists of two players and each golfer plays his own ball. The lower score among the side is counted for each hole.

Overall, there will be nine matches of foursomes, nine matches of four-ball and 12 singles matches. Each match is worth one point.

The Day 1 action starts 9:30 a.m. local time on Thursday (5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday). Golf Channel’s live TV coverage starts at 5:30 p.m.

Immediately following Thursday play, the captains will announce pairings for Friday.

[jwplayer x5bfcXmZ-9JtFt04J]

[opinary poll=”whos-your-pick-to-win-the-2019-president” customer=”golfweek”]

Ernie Els plots revenge on Tiger Woods at Presidents Cup

Having suffered numerous defeats at the hands of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els hopes to exact revenge against his rival as Presidents Cup captain.

[jwplayer x5bfcXmZ-9JtFt04J]

MELBOURNE, Australia – For more than two decades, Ernie Els has been stymied by Tiger Woods. More than any other golfer, Els has been Woods’s whipping boy, such as the time he was one of the golfers who finished tied for second 15 strokes behind him in second place at the 2000 U.S. Open. There’s no telling how many more trophies Els would have hoisted if not for the force of nature that is Woods.

“You know, he’s not a bad golfer, you know what I mean?” Els cracked. “A lot of tournaments come through my mind now where I’ve come close and lost to him, but there was a couple where I got him, you know, here and there.”

One of their memorable clashes took place at the 2003 Presidents Cup in South Africa. Woods beat Els handily in the singles 4 and 3, and then they battled in a sudden-death playoff for three holes until darkness and an inconvenient draw.

“I thought I had him beat for once,” Els said. “He had a left-to-right putt, four foot of break seemed like and in darkness. I had a pretty straight one going up the hill. But I really thought maybe this time he was going to miss one. But he poured it in.”

MORE: Presidents Cup viewers guide | Photo gallery

Els said he thinks they would’ve played on to a standstill for another few hours if the match had continued. This week, these two great champions will continue their rivalry as Presidents Cup captains. Els joked that he is the last remaining participant from the 1998 International squad that trounced the U.S. 20-11 here at Royal Melbourne Golf Club for its lone victory in 12 previous Cups.

“That was a wonderful time. I still remember that very clearly, how the guys played, the team spirit we had that week, how they individually stood tall,” Els recalled. “Looking back at ’98, we basically didn’t have a bad session. We got off to a great start on the first day, which really got the crowd fired up. Day two was huge. Everything seemed to go our way and I remember Craig Parry chipping in on 18 to win a tight match 1-up. Those little moments, they create a lot of momentum. Overall, I think we putted a bit better than they did; that’s often the difference in matchplay. Inevitably a lot of the matches were close and it just comes down to one key moment, one putt, here or there.”

What will Els do to ensure the Internationals are partying at Royal Melbourne again like its 1998?

“We talked about that,” Els said. “You know, we are doing this thing as a team. I’ve got a young team and so forth, as we did back in ’98, and at the end of the day, it’s 18 holes of match play. We’ve seen what can happen.”

Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, shown at the 2000 Mercedes Championship (Associated Press)

Els has a deep affection for Royal Melbourne, where he holds the course record of 60. For four years, beginning in 2002, this Sand Belt gem felt like his home golf course when he played the Heineken Classic there (three consecutive wins starting in 2003). Els said he will draw from past captains like Australian Peter Thomson and from his own vast experience playing in eight previous Presidents Cups, and will try to pass along some of his secrets to mastering the Alistair MacKenzie masterpiece to his team, which is a combination of youth and experience.

“I know the golf course quite well,” Els said in an understatement. “Maybe they’ll listen to me. You never know. That would be nice.”

Els has done his homework on the course and studied a vast array of statistics and data in making up his lineup for Thursday’s opening Four-Ball session. (They’re safely locked away in his phone, he said.) He knows his team is the underdog, but he remembers what happened in 1998 and thinks it could happen again. As Australian Adam Scott so elegantly put it, “It’d be great to stick it to Tiger and the entire American team.”

Els put his own spin on things. After being deferential to Woods and his brilliance and saying that “it’s been a real privilege to have played in his era,” Els delivered this kicker:

“So with all that being said and done, you know, we’d like to kick their asses this week here at home.”

[opinary poll=”whos-your-pick-to-win-the-2019-president” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778015613,778015587,778015581,778015579,778015513]

Tiger Woods on Team USA’s ’26-hour ride in a luxurious tin can’ to Presidents Cup

“There was a lot of card playing, a lot of trash talking, a lot of needling,” said Tiger Woods of his Presidents Cup team plane ride to Australia.

[jwplayer x5bfcXmZ-9JtFt04J]

MELBOURNE, Australia – It was anything but a silent night as the U.S. team flew from the Bahamas to Australia for this week’s Presidents Cup, a 10,000-mile journey clocking in at just a bit more than 26 hours.

Sure, in the dead of the night, the players, vice captains, caddies and others caught a few winks on the decked out aircraft. A refueling stop in Mexico allowed the players to stretch their legs a bit, as well. But for the most part, to hear how playing captain Tiger Woods put it, there was plenty of tom foolery going on up in the air.

“Up front there was a nice, open area where guys could mingle and have fun,” Woods said Tuesday in his opening news conference with Internationals captain Ernie Els. “There was a lot of card playing, a lot of trash talking, a lot of needling.

“It was nonstop, literally nonstop, for over a day.”

MORE: Presidents Cup viewers guide | Photo gallery

And now it will take more than a day after the Americans landed at 12:30 p.m. local time on Monday for them to get their bodies acclimated to Australian time, a 16-hour time difference from the east coast of the states.

“We’re still feeling it,” Woods said at Royal Melbourne Golf Club. “I mean, I know I am. We’ll hit that wall sometime this afternoon and got to push through it and get through the gala dinner tonight. I think by (Wednesday) afternoon, we should all start feeling pretty good.

“Today is an important day for us to just walk and to stretch our legs a bit. Getting in yesterday after a 26-hour ride in a luxurious tin can, it’s nice to actually get out there and feel some fresh air.”

Woods looked a bit groggy for his 8 a.m. presser. The day before, less than six hours off the plane, he didn’t look up to speed, either, at the kickoff of the Presidents Cup Fan Experience on the Melbourne River Walk.

U.S Team captain Tiger Woods hits a shot to a target in the Yarra River during the Fan Experience Opening Celebration prior to Presidents Cup at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club on December 9, 2019, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Woods dumped two balls into the Yarra River as he tried to hit a floating green just 75 yards in the distance.

“I’m a bit slow, right now,” Woods said with a smile.

Wood and the rest of the team began to get their legs back under them with practice rounds Tuesday. Woods was grouped with Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Reed.

In addition to getting ready as a player, Woods is on point as a captain and has already addressed his team’s role of being a huge favorite in the biennial matches. The U.S. is 10-1-1 in the series and this year’s team has all 12 members ranked in the top 25 in the world.

But Woods was on the U.S. team that lost here at Royal Melbourne in 1998. He’s making sure his team isn’t overly confident.

“I think our strength is that we are a very deep team,” Woods said. “The guys have played well this entire year, and you know, we had 11 out of 12 guys play last week (at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas), so it was nice for them to shake off some rust. Get a feel for things.

“Each and every Cup, each and every tournament we play in around the world, starts out at zero and this one is the same.”

[lawrence-related id=778015587,778015581,778015579,778015513]

2019 Presidents Cup odds, lines, picks and best bets: Which side wins at Royal Melbourne?

Previewing the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, with golf betting odds and picks for outright winner and the best props.

[jwplayer Hew3fZFR]

The 2019 Presidents Cup takes place this week at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Twelve of the top golfers from the United States tee off against 12 of the best from outside of Europe. Below, we analyze the tournament odds and prop bets, with golf betting picks and tips.

The first round will start Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Looking to place a bet on this tournament? Get some action on it at BetMGM. Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

Presidents Cup Teams

Captains Tiger Woods (USA) and Ernie Els (International) selected the following teams:

Team USA International Team
Dustin Johnson–Justin Thomas Hideki Matsuyama–Adam Scott
Matt Kuchar–Xander Schauffele Louis Oosthuizen–Marc Leishman
Webb Simpson–Patrick Cantlay Abraham Ancer–Haotong Li
Bryson DeChambeau–Tiger Woods C.T. Pan–Cameron Smith
Gary Woodland–Tony Finau Joaquin Niemann–Adam Hadwin
Patrick Reed–Rickie Fowler Sungjae Im–Byeong Hun An

The entire US team ranks in the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking, while only three members of the International side are in the top 25.

Presidents Cup Tournament Winner

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

Team USA has won the past seven Presidents Cups and leads the all-time series against the International side at 10-1-1. Fortunately for the global squad, which is led by three Australians, its only Presidents Cup victory was at this venue in 1998.

The INTERNATIONALS are getting juicy +250 odds for the tournament victory. Team USA is a -250 favorite. Look for Adam Scott (No. 18), Marc Leishman (No. 28) and Cameron Smith (No. 52) to lead the Internationals to victory on home soil.

Presidents Cup Prop Bets

Internationals +3.5 Points (-125)

After losing 19-11 in 2017, look for the Internationals to keep it closer this time out. Their previous two losses in 2015 and ’13, were decided by one and three points, respectively.

Top Combined Points Scorer: Adam Scott (+1200)

Scott will have the crowd behind him as the top golfer from the host nation. He didn’t play in 1998 (when the Internationals got their lone win in the event, also in Melbourne), but he has won both the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship and has spoken highly of wanting to win at the famed Royal Melbourne as a potential career highlight.

Who will score the most points for the USA? Patrick Reed (+900)

Expect the best from Reed, who has excelled in the Ryder Cup format against Europe, and in the 2017 Presidents Cup. He’s coming off another controversy at last week’s Hero World Challenge in which he was penalized two strokes for improving his line of play in a waste bunker.

Get some action on this tournament by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1363]

Forecaddie: The Presidents Cup when Tiger Woods chugged vodka cranberries like water

Tiger Woods considered playing in the three-hole sudden-death playoff against Ernie Els the most pressure-packed situation in his career.

The Man Out Front learned something new about Tiger Woods the other day. He likes cranberry juice as his mixer. More on that in a moment.

Woods and Ernie Els will lock heads as team captains of Team USA and Team International, respectively, at the Presidents Cup this week. No matter how tense the action gets watching their 12-man teams try to hole putts, it likely will pale in comparison to the gut-wrenching pressure of having the entire outcome of the match hang in the balance as it did when they faced off in a sudden-death playoff in 2003 in Els’ home country of South Africa.

Dennis Alpert, then tournament director of the Presidents Cup for the PGA Tour, tells The Forecaddie, that Woods went “stone cold” when he realized the match was tied and he and Els would play for all the marbles.

Tiger Woods and Ernie Els each parred three consecutive sudden-death playoff holes before the 2003 Presidents Cup was called by darkness.

“Tiger’s demeanor completely changed,” Alpert recalled. “He went stone cold. The enormity of the situation hit them both. The burden fell on their shoulders. Tiger was World No. 1, the player everyone came to see. Ernie was playing on home soil. He’s the Big Easy and was like the ambassador of the event. Add to that, they each felt this incredible weight on their shoulders on behalf of their teammates. I remember trying to make some small talk with them, wishing them both good luck and feeling as though a cold breeze had fallen over me.”

But it wasn’t until after they played three extra holes and the match was called for darkness and ruled a tie that Alpert discovered how the match shook Tiger to the core.

“Tiger is sitting in front of me in the van back to the clubhouse and he’s shaking,” Alpert said. “One of the players said it was incredible how he handled the pressure of the moment and asked him, ‘How do you feel?’ Tiger held up his hand and it was shaking. He wanted to show these guys – this is how I feel. He said he’d never been this nervous in his life.”

On the short, uphill winding ride to the clubhouse, Woods had one special request, asking if the clubhouse served cranberry juice. Why, yes they did.

“Can you get me a vodka cranberry?” Alpert recalls Woods adjusting his order. “He said make it a big one.”

Alpert had the driver pull over at the side of the clubhouse near the bar and he jumped out and fetched a pint glass inside and had the bartender make a stiff drink. Woods was sitting in front of his locker when Alpert arrived, and his hands were still shaking.

“Tiger took the drink and chugged it like it was water,” Alpert said.

And Woods’ thirst wasn’t quenched yet. He asked for another to take the edge off. Alpert came back with another and a Miller Genuine Draft. He pounded those too.

“It was like a musician winding down at the end of a concert,” Alpert said.

Mozart in the Jungle has nothing on Tiger in the African safari.

[lawrence-related id=778015503,778015473,778015483]