There is little doubt that the Internationals will need to get off to a fast start if Mike Weir’s men are going to give themselves a good chance of finally securing only their second ever Presidents Cup victory at Royal Montreal this week.
The Internationals will be underdogs in the eyes of many heading into the Presidents Cup. So it is no surprise that Mike Weir has opted to start with the fourballs at Royal Montreal given that they have had a lot more success in that format down the years.
It was always going to be interesting to see which pairings Weir put together, with three Canadians on his team on home soil. Meanwhile, there is no question that the more experienced players on the team such as Adam Scott, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama need to have big weeks if the Internationals are going to triumph.
It was not all that surprising to see Weir opt to pair one of his two rookies, Min Woo Lee with one of his fellow Australians. Lee will feature in the second match alongside Scott, taking on Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala.
Mike Weir lauded for putting together potentially ‘special’ pairing ahead of the opening session of the Presidents Cup
Morikawa and Theegala both finished in the top three at The Tour Championship, so it is going to be a huge ask for the Internationals. But speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Rex Hoggard suggested that the pairing of Lee and Scott could bring the best out of the 44-year-old in this event at long last.
“I actually love what Mike did with that second pairing, putting Adam Scott out with Min Woo Lee, because Min Woo has so much energy and he’s a young player. And that’s kind of been Adam Scott’s cross to bear in these matches where he’s a veteran, he’s a veteran, he’s a veteran. You always send the young player out that didn’t have the experience, and I think that’s actually kind of dragged him down a little bit,” he said.
“This seems the opposite, it seems as if he’s almost trying to do what Phil Mickelson did all those years where he pulled on the young players’ energy. He did it with Anthony Kim that year, he did it with Keegan Bradley. If he can somehow spark something, and you can see clearly what Mike Weir is trying to do here, I think it could be special.”
This year’s Tom Kim
Lee is arguably a prime candidate to rise to the occasion in the same way Tom Kim did two years ago. Kim was outstanding on Saturday at Quail Hollow, and his energy seemed to filter through the team at a time when Trevor Immelman’s side seemed to be beaten.
Lee seems to be fearless and this format arguably plays to his strengths. Lee is deceptively long off the tee, while Scott has seen it all in the Presidents Cup. If they can both find their best form in that match, there is no reason why they cannot push Morikawa and Theegala all the way.
The American pairing looks to be incredibly strong, and they will hope to grind the International side down, particularly with Morikawa’s superb iron play and Theegala’s exciting short game.
But clearly, this could be the match which provides some opening day fireworks in Canada.
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