Posted by Jason Sobel
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The pairings have been released for Friday morning's opening foursomes matches … and it turns out the captains were pretty forthcoming in their pre-tournament interviews sessions.
"There's a pattern developing," U.S. captain Paul Azinger said Tuesday when questioned about his players' practice sessions. "I mean, common sense would tell you that."
Azinger hardly deviated from the pattern, matching up the teams of Phil Mickelson/Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard/Hunter Mahan, Stewart Cink/Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry/Jim Furyk for the four matches.
I can't say there are many major surprises in there, if any at all. Perhaps the biggest shocker -- if you can call it that -- is that J.B. Holmes is sitting out the morning matches. Probably a good call, however. Even though Azinger has taken every possible opportunity to compliment Holmes' game, the format doesn't exactly suit his style of play. I'd also call it a mild surprise that Boo Weekley is sitting out, considering his ball-striking prowess, though he and fellow rookies Ben Curtis and Steve Stricker should benefit from not having to tee it up in the unfamiliar format.
If there are few surprises for the U.S., that goes double for the Europeans, as Nick Faldo adhered to his earlier statements about pairings. "If you've been watching, [I've] talked to over half the team, or more than that, and input's been great from the guys," the captain said Tuesday. "So we pretty much have a very clear idea of what we're going to do."
Faldo is putting arguably his eight strongest players into play in the morning matches, with a lineup of Padraig Harrington/Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stenson/Paul Casey, Justin Rose/Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood/Sergio Garcia, leaving Miguel Angel Jimenez, Oliver Wilson, Graeme McDowell and Søren Hansen on the outside looking in for the first session.
All of these make perfect sense; each of these players was on the course with his partner earlier today during the practice round. Oh, and this is why no one should have taken too much stock in Faldo's "sandwich list" in which Stenson was the only player not listed on his sheet of paper.
Let's break down all four matches …
8:05 a.m.: Phil Mickelson/Anthony Kim, USA vs. Padraig Harrington/Robert Karlsson, Europe
Call this duo the U.S. "A-Team," as Mickelson and Kim represent the two most talented players on the roster. "Mickelson called me personally and said he'd love to play with [Kim], but so did about six other guys," Azinger said. "I said, 'Way to go out on a limb, Phil. You want Anthony Kim? Really?'"
He's got him, but in reality, like the American team as a whole, they might be the underdogs coming into this match. Harrington is having a nice little second half to the season, thank you very much, with victories at the British Open and PGA Championship. Don't expect a recent lull in his performance to carry over to this week.
Meanwhile, Karlsson has been blistering hot all year long, punctuated with a win at last week's Mercedes-Benz Championship. The winner of this match? ESPN's programming department, which gets a high-profile commencement to its first Ryder Cup telecast. The other winner? It'll be close, but the advantage goes to the European side. Fear not, though, U.S. fans. Two years ago, an American pairing won the first match of the competition, but still went on to lose by nine points. A good start is nice, but it's not a requirement.
My pick: Europe
8:20 a.m.: Justin Leonard/Hunter Mahan, USA vs. Henrik Stenson/Paul Casey, Europe
Truth is, this is an American pairing of doppelgangers; in fact, if Leonard was about 10 years younger, lived closer to a beach and said "dude" a lot, he'd be a dead ringer for his opening-match partner. They should make a good pairing for other reasons, though, notably the fact that both are solid ball-strikers and should hit plenty of greens in regulation.
Stenson and Casey will be looking to take advantage of their length on most holes -- expect them to be a good 15-20 yards longer off the tee, especially on those holes in which Leonard hits the initial drive -- but if this competition came down to driving distance alone, Holmes would be playing a more major role. They also have the experience factor in their favor, too. You'll win a pint at the local 19th hole with this bit of trivia: Even though Leonard holed the winning putt for the U.S. at Brookline, he's never won a Ryder Cup match, currently at 0-3-5. Mahan is making his debut, but remember, he shined at the Presidents Cup last year and has been playing sublime golf as of late.
My pick: USA
8:35 a.m.: Stewart Cink/Chad Campbell, USA vs. Justin Rose/Ian Poulter, Europe
Poor Chad Campbell. In many listings around the course of the two rosters, including on the wall that serves as a background to all interview room sessions, the European team is listed alphabetically (starting with Casey), while the U.S. team is listed by points for the first eight players (Mickelson on top), then the four captain's picks, as announced at a Sept. 2 news conference by Azinger. Since Campbell was admittedly the last man to make the team, he remains as the last player listed, an ever-lingering reminder of how he barely squeaked his way onto the roster.
Perhaps it will serve as motivation throughout the week. He'll be playing with Cink, whose game is quite similar to that of Campbell. Meanwhile, on the Euro side, perhaps no player has more pressure on him this week than Poulter, who many believe was the last player to make that team over the more popular Darren Clarke. He'll have something to prove as well, but he's paired with Rose, who has a world of talent but has been inconsistent in major events.
My pick: USA
8:50 a.m.: Kenny Perry/Jim Furyk, USA vs. Lee Westwood/Sergio Garcia, Europe
Here's one stat you should be prepared to hear at least a dozen times by the time this one ends Friday: In eight previous foursomes matches, Garcia has compiled an 8-0-0 record. Wow. El Niño is also back to familiar territory, pairing with longtime partner Westwood in what will be their seventh career match together. During that time, they're 4-1-1.
Meanwhile, Perry and Furyk have combined for a 2-6-0 career foursomes record, but they just might be the right team to take on this European duo. "Both of those guys have alternate shot experience," Azinger said. "That would be a nice format for [Furyk] as well as he hits it, and Kenny Perry actually likes alternate shot better than anything else. So it just made a lot of sense to me that that would be a really solid pairing."
As veterans, don't expect the U.S. guys to get unduly rattled by the sight of Sergio holing putts he never seems to make in major championships and high-fiving his way around Valhalla. Even so, too much high-fiving can lead to Cloud Nine for Garcia in foursomes.
My pick: Europe
That'll do it for today. If you're not pumped for tomorrow's opening matches, start getting there because this is going to be about as fun as it gets. I'll be back here at 7 a.m. sharp Friday morning, taking you through the entirety of all eight matches during the day. Check back early and often for reports here from Valhalla.
Until then, hit 'em straight …
Jason Sobel covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.
