World No. 1 golfer excited to pair up with Johnson

U.S. Team Captain Jay Haas, left, and International Team Captain Nick Price shake hands after announcing pairings for the five foursomes in the Presidents Cup at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Songdo, Incheon, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

INCHEON ― Though Jordan Spieth has dominated the golf world this year, the world’s No. 1 golfer was humble on Wednesday about the Presidents Cup, a four-day tournament that will tee off Thursday.

The captains of the Presidents Cup teams announced the pairings for Thursday’s five foursomes matches, in which Spieth and Dustin Johnson will be partners taking on Danny Lee of New Zealand and Marc Leishman of Australia.

“It is going to be a tough match,” said Spieth at a press availability at the event’s venue, the Jack Niclaus Golf Club in Incheon. “Danny will have a fantastic week here. He’s coming off of some good weeks himself. They are both strong players who have come up big in some big moments. Danny came here earlier so that he could adjust to the time zone, weather (and) golf course. So he’s as prepared as anybody.

“When I step on the first tee in this Presidents Cup, we’ll be nervous and we’ll be excited. The most nervous I’ve ever been was when I started out the 2013 Presidents Cup. Then, I became even more nervous at the Ryder Cup,” Spieth said. “Given this year, I’ll be able to settle in a little quicker. I’ve got D.J. on my side, who isn’t short on strength. So we’ll be in good shape.”

Spieth and Johnson had a fierce battle at the U.S. Open in June, with Spieth winning the tournament by one shot. And they will be partners sharing one ball at the 2015 Presidents Cup, which will be the first of its kind to take place in an Asian country.

“Why D.J.? Because it’s D.J. He’s really good. He can bust it down the par 5s, and then I can kind of control some shots into those greens. He’s been playing some really solid rounds; been striking the ball great,” Spieth said.

According to U.S. Team Captain Jay Haas, Spieth and Johnson asked to play together in the tournament, thus it was an easy decision to pair them, saying, “What Jordan wants, Jordan gets right now.”

Despite the spotlight being on him, Spieth was calm and humble about the Presidents Cup, and said he is still young and has many things to learn from veteran players.

“I’ve started to get better with it in individual events, but as far as the team goes, no, I’m not. I’m still sitting back and listening to the veterans, who have played on 10 or 11 of those teams. You can listen to them, and there’s no need for me to think of myself in the scenario whatsoever,” Spieth said.

Spieth has had a splendid season this year, rising to become the undisputed No. 1 golfer. He piled up victories in two majors and three other PGA Tour events to sweep the money rankings ($12,030,465) and other awards. He partnered with Patrick Reed in last year’s Ryder Cup and went 2-0-1.

Facing the formidable duo, Danny Lee stressed it is a “team game” and pledged he will do his best to help the team. Lee also welcomed the pairings, saying he thought Leishman and himself would be a good match.

“I think we are going to be a good match. We are both pretty aggressive players and we’re both good at putting. So if one of us is on the green, I think we are going to have a birdie chance anywhere on the green.”

Lee is going to make his Presidents Cup debut in Korea, where he was born. “There’s a lot of diehard fans in Korea. It just doesn’t feel like I’m in a different country.”

The two pairs’ showdown will be the anchor match of the foursomes matches and the International Team hopes this will be the first step toward turning the tables. The U.S. Team has dominated the Presidents Cup, with a record of 8-1-1 in previous events.

Meanwhile, Bae Sang-moon, the only Korean player in the Presidents Cup, will sit out of Thursday’s matches along with South African Charl Schwartzel, who is battling a cold. As the number of matches have been reduced from 34 to 30, two players from each team will miss each of the first two days of the four-day tournament.

“I felt kind of bad I had to bench Moon (Bae),” said the International Team Captain Nick Price. He added that he had to make that choice because he didn’t want to break up any teams. “I didn't want to split any of the pairings that played well together yesterday,” Price said, referring to a practice round.

Schwartzel’s condition has been in question from Tuesday, with Price saying Schwartzel “had a little bit of a bug and a vitamin B12 shot.” His condition got worse Wednesday, forcing the duo of him and Bae to miss Thursday’s action.

“Bae and Charl were the best team in practice,” said International Team Vice Captain Choi Kyoung-joo, adding that the decision was made for the sake of the team.

Also resting on Thursday will be Chris Kirk and Bill Haas of the U.S. Team.

The other pairings of Thursday’s foursomes matches are the International Team’s Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama facing U.S. Team’s Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes; International Team’s Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace taking on Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed of the U.S. Team; Anirban Lahiri and Thongchai Jaidee of the Internationals vs. Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker of the U.S.; and the International side’s Jason Day and Steven Bowditch against Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson of the U.S. Team.