USGA releases 2018 U.S. Open groupings

MELBOURNE, Australia – The five opening Four-Ball matches of this week’s Presidents Cup are now set, with International Captain Ernie Els and U.S. Captain Tiger Woods unveiling their partnerships for the critical opening day at Royal Melbourne. PRESIDENTS CUP: How to watch | Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Data-driven Els | What will Tiger be like as captain? | Inside Internationals’ win in 1998 | Quiz: Who should you cheer for? Here’s a look at each match, along with our staff predictions from onsite writers Ben Everill and Mike McAllister. MATCH 1 MARC LEISHMAN/JOAQUIN NIEMANN (INTERNATIONAL) vs. JUSTIN THOMAS/TIGER WOODS (USA), 5:32 p.m. ET Overview: Woods wanted to go out early as a player so he could get done and resume his captaincy duties as soon as possible. “It was important for me to get out there as a player, but also as a captain, I want to obviously see my guys play,â€� Woods said. “This is my first time as a captain. I want to be able to enjoy that part of it, as well.â€� Woods is playing for the first time with Thomas; it will be Tiger’s 11th different partner in his Presidents Cup career. Woods will also be looking for his first Four-Ball win at Royal Melbourne; he’s 0-4-0 in his two previous appearances here in that format. Leishman, as one of the three Australians on the team, hopes to get the local crowd revved up while playing with Niemann, the Presidents Cup rookie from Chile. Niemann won A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier in his first start of the new PGA TOUR season. Player records: Leishman (3-7-3 overall; 0-4-0 in Four-Balls; Niemann (0-0-0); Thomas (3-1-1 overall; 2-0-0 in Four-Balls); Woods (24-15-1 overall; 7-9-0 in Four-Balls) Ben Everill’s prediction: Halved. Leishman will step up in front of his home crowd and Niemann will relish this challenge. Taking Woods to 18 will kick things off the right way. Mike McAllister’s prediction: USA, 3 and 2. I expect Thomas to be this week’s top player. Partnering with Woods reinforces that thought. MATCH 2 ADAM HADWIN/SUNGJAE IM (INTERNATIONAL) vs. XANDER SCHAUFFELE/PATRICK CANTLAY (USA), 5:47 p.m. ET Overview: Hadwin is determined to make amends after a disappointing performance two years ago in his Presidents Cup debut. He’ll partner the PGA TOUR’s reigning Rookie of the Year, who could be one of Ernie Els’ big performers this week. Im has a win, a runner-up and a third in his last six worldwide starts. The Schauffele-Cantlay partnership seems like two players cut from the same mold, especially from a personality standpoint. Both are low-key, which should help each in handling the excitement of their first Presidents Cup appearances. Both also have similar games, with each ranking inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Total last season. Player records: Hadwin (0-2-1 overall; 0-0-0 in Four-Balls); Im (0-0-0); Schauffele (0-0-0); Cantlay (0-0-0) Ben Everill’s prediction: Internationals 3 and 2. Sungjae Im is going to be the star of the show this week and Hadwin has something to prove. Cantlay will take time to adjust to Royal Melbourne. Mike McAllister’s prediction: USA, 1 up. I can see this one going either way, but the Americans have a bit more experience in winning on TOUR (six combined wins to 1 for the International duo) on their side. MATCH 3 ADAM SCOTT/BYEONG HUN AN (INTERNATIONAL) vs. BRYSON DECHAMBEAU/TONY FINAU (USA), 6:02 p.m. ET Overview: A huge match up in the context of the Cup. Scott must be a leader both on and off the course if he is to get his first victory in his ninth Cup appearance. Taking An under his wing the Australian must produce his best stuff right from the start so the pressure is on. The U.S. pair both made their team debut at last year’s Ryder Cup and will take a level of calmness because of it. But DeChambeau reappeared in his new bulked up body after a lengthy layoff and could only finish 15th of 18 in the Bahamas. Finau’s fall was far from exciting, finishing near the rear of three non-cut events and missing the cut in another. Player Records: Scott (Overall 14-20-5, Four-Ball 3-9-3), An (Overall 0-0-0, Four-Ball 0-0-0), DeChambeau (Overall 0-0-0, Four-Ball 0-0-0), Finau (Overall 0-0-0, Four-Ball 0-0-0). Ben Everill’s prediction: Internationals 3 and 2. Scott knows Royal Melbourne and An wants to prove his worth as a late call up. Despite all of DeChambeau’s physics prowess he needs more time to figure this course out and Finau is rusty. Mike McAllister’s prediction: Internationals, 2 and 1. Scott, who hasn’t won a Four-Balls match in this event since 2005, will ride his course knowledge to victory.   MATCH 4 WEBB SIMPSON/PATRICK REED (USA) vs. HIDEKI MATSUYAMA/C.T. PAN (INTERNATIONAL), 6:17 p.m. ET Overview: U.S. Captain Tiger Woods has sent the calm Simpson out to deal with the local crowds who are expected to rise up and get vocal against Reed. It provides a great yin and yang pairing as Reed will thrive under pressure and Simpson can just cruise through it. Matsuyama will be the experienced influence Pan needs on debut just as Pan will be the smiling assassin Matsuyama needs when he fails to meet his own high standards and needs to relax. Player Records: Simpson (Overall 5-3-2, Four-Ball 2-1-1), Reed (Overall 4-3-2, Four-Ball 2-0-1), Matsuyama (Overall 4-6-3, Four-Ball 1-2-2), Pan (Overall 0-0-0, Four-Ball 0-0-0). Ben Everill’s prediction: U.S. 2 and 1. Reed is at his best when under the pump and he has been for a week so it should lead to a gutsy performance. Mike McAllister’s prediction: Internationals, 1 up. Matsuyama had a half-point (with Adam Hadwin) against Reed (and Jordan Spieth) two years ago. He gets the full-point this time.   MATCH 5 ABRAHAM ANCER/LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN (INTERNATIONALS) vs. DUSTIN JOHNSON/GARY WOODLAND, 6:32 p.m. ET Overview: The bash brothers from the U.S. up against the smooth swinging Internationals. Johnson hasn’t played since knee surgery after the TOUR Championship in August but Woodland played well in the fall. They say you can’t overpower Royal Melbourne so we are about to find out. Oosthuizen is the International spearhead coming off a runner up last week at the Australian Open. Ancer won the Australian Open the year before. Possibly the best International duo. Player Records: Ancer (Overall 0-0-0, Four-Ball 0-0-0), Oosthuizen (Overall 7-5-3, Four-Ball 3-3-0); Johnson (Overall 8-4-2, Four-Ball 2-3-0), Woodland (Overall 0-0-0, Four-Ball 0-0-0). Ben Everill’s prediction: International 2 up. Oosthuizen is in great form and Ancer has proven his chops in Australian conditions while Johnson will be rusty and lacking touch on a course that demands it. Mike McAllister’s prediction: Internationals, 2 and 1. Oosthuizen is in great form, and Johnson might be rusty. NOT PLAYING Haotong Li and Cameron Smith (Internationals); Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar (USA) It’s probably difficult for Smith, the young Australian, to miss the first day, but Els has seven rookies on his team, so not a surprise that he’s sitting out two of them. The Royal Melbourne fans will still be able to cheer their two veteran Aussies in Adam Scott and Marc Leishman. “There’s enough Australians out there tomorrow to rally a lot of guys,â€� Els said, “but as I said to them, we are all one this week, Australians, South Africans, the whole Internationals.â€� Fowler was the late addition after Brooks Koepka withdrew on the American side and had to shake the rust off last week at the Hero World Challenge. Kuchar hasn’t had a top-10 finish in his last 11 worldwide starts.

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Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Rah Rah Rahm The most picked player in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO and PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO did exactly what he was supposed to do. Jon Rahm, the highest ranked player in the field at No. 3 in the OWGR, needed four playoff holes to win for the second time on TOUR. What a difference a year makes as this time last year he was No. 137 and had zero wins. He’s added the Farmers Insurance Open, the Irish Open and the DT World Tour Championship in those 12 months. He’s played two events on TOUR this season and has finished first and second. There’s nothing better in fantasy golf when the player meets the gamer’s expectations. Gracias! #NappyFactor Andrew Landry’s wife is due in March. This is his third top 10 in seven events in the new season and best finish on TOUR. He showed his meddle down the stretch as his birdie putt on the final hole forced a playoff. He only made one bogey on the week, his 60th hole, but it didn’t deter him. He’ll rue his chance on the second playoff hole as his putt for birdie and the win didn’t scare the hole. He’ll add this to his Oakmont experience from last summer and should be in the mix as 2018 rolls on. I’d stick him in any keeper league and watch him grow. No Questions for John John Huh hasn’t cashed a top 10 check since last March at Innisbrook before T3 Sunday. He hasn’t landed on the podium since the 2014 Barracuda Championship! Gamers might want to put a circle around him for next year as this was his third top 30 in four tries in the Coachella Valley. His weekend (65-66) included eight birdies on Saturday and six birdies and an eagle on Sunday. Had Another Chance Adam Hadwin didn’t show any signs of life in four events during the fall and only put two rounds of 16 in the 60’s. Course historians will point out that he was T6 in 2016 and second last year after his 59 Saturday at La Quinta. While his normally trusty putter wasn’t firing like he expected, his iron game saw him peg T7 GIR. His 68 Sunday was his worst round of the week and he still finished T4. It’s obvious that this course rotation fits his eye and game. California Dreamin’ Fresno native Kevin Chappell (T6) is going to petition the tournament committee to have ALL four rounds at the Stadium Course. He fired a bogey-free 64 Friday on his first trip. He added six more birdies for 67 on Sunday. The Stadium Course was the only track of the three to use ShotLink and it validated Chappell’s love. He led those who played the Stadium Course twice in SG: Approach to the Green, Tee to Green and Total. He was also T2 in GIR for the week across all three tracks. Chappell has never MC in six tries at this event. All in the Family His grandfather Arnold Palmer won this event five times. Grandson Sam Saunders collected a check for the first time in four tries. His 64 on Sunday was the low round of the day by two shots and vaulted him up the leaderboard 34 spots to T8. His 28 birdies were T1 for the week. He flashed signs at the Web.com Finals last fall as he fired 59 at Atlantic Beach. He hovered around the top 10 at Sony last week before fading on Sunday to T25. He’s never had more than two top 10’s in a season or finished in FedExCup top 125. Caution. Grandstand Finishers Canadian Nick Taylor’s 66 saw him quietly collect his fifth top 32 paycheck in seven starts this season. … Bud Cauley, one of my favorites, kept his streak of hitting T14 or better in the new rotation with his closing 66. He’s now cashed T14, T3 and T14 the last three years and is 51-under-par. … Harris English popped onto the radar for a hot second last week. His second round 65 caught my eye but his weekend (70-72) kept me away. He flashed 66 Sunday to move up 22 spots to T11. Noted. Familiar Faces PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO most popular player won the tournament but only two of the top 10 selected players missed the cut, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed. Mickelson broke a streak of 12 events in a row once again proving that there are no guarantees in fantasy golf. Reed is a former champion but his win is his only top 10 in six tries. Of those eight selected playing on Sunday none finished inside the top 20. Fantasy golf is hard. Study Hall Sergio Garcia won the Singapore Open by five shots to start his 20th year as a professional. Pat Perez collected T21 money but will not play in his hometown event this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. … Tommy Fleetwood shot 65 and came from five shots off the pace to defend his title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Rory McIlroy (70) cashed T3 while Dustin Johnson was T9. Justin Rose, who is playing Torrey Pines, was bogey-free in the final round to claim T22. … C.T. Pan tweeted Sunday he had the flu this week and that was a factor to him missing the cut. He was T2 at the Farmers Insurance last year. … The top four finishers at the Singapore Open (not previously qualified) Jazz Janewattananond, Lucas Herbert, Danthai Boonma and Sean Crocker booked their spots at The Open Championship at Carnoustie. 

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MEDINAH, Ill. – Tiger Woods won the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships at Medinah No. 3, but he’ll need something extraordinary to achieve a victory of a different type this week. He had just shot a 5-under 67 at the BMW Championship when he was asked what it might take for him to reach next week’s 30-man TOUR Championship at East Lake. “I shoot 60, it should be right,â€� he said. The assembled press laughed, but at 7 under and far behind the leaders, Woods probably wasn’t far from the truth. He needs no worse than a solo 11th place finish to move from 38th to inside the top 30 in the FedExCup. Related: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings | How to make the final 30 Alas, he was projected to drop a few spots even after his first bogey-free round since last year’s third round at the BMW Championship. Playing alongside Dustin Johnson (72), he tallied just 27 putts, his fewest of the week, and was six-for-six in scrambling. “I figured I’m going to have to do something in mid-60s for two straight days there,â€� Woods said. “Left myself pretty far behind after the first two rounds. What’s more amazing is how many guys are under par on this golf course. There isn’t one person over-par. “Who would have guessed that going into this week?â€� he continued. “We all thought this was one of the more tough and bigger ballparks and the whole field is playing well. There’s normally a few guys that are struggling. The entire field playing well is something that we’re all pretty surprised at.â€� Woods has limited his starts since winning the Masters Tournament in April, and had admitted to fatigue. He withdrew from THE NORTHERN TRUST with an oblique strain after an opening-round 75, and limited himself to just nine holes of practice before the start of the BMW. Some days, he said, are better than others, health-wise. Getting the club in the right positions through the swing helps, but it works the other way around, too. Feeling better also helps him get the club in the right positions. He never knows how he’ll feel from day-to-day. “I’m going to have some difficulties here and there,â€� he said. “I got to fight through it and be patient with it.â€� East Lake has been on his mind because it was the site of his historic 80th victory a year ago, his first PGA TOUR victory in over five years. It’s going to take something special to get back. At the very least, he said, he was pleased to keep a clean card Saturday. “I didn’t do that the first two days (71-71),â€� he said. “I made some really stupid mistakes out there. Didn’t hit the ball close when I needed to and I missed some easy putts for par or birdie. This was nice to at least give myself a chance to make it to next week.â€�

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