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Welcome to the warp-up of our Day 1 live blog for the 2015 Presidents Cup. Read below for all of the commentary, stats, photos and videos from Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
The 2015 Presidents Cup starts Wednesday night. Yes, Wednesday night. Because of the time difference in South Korea, the United States and International teams will tee things off with five foursome matches starting at 10 p.m. ET.
It's a strange thing for golf to miss the primetime slot because it's too late (rather than too early), but you might want to stay up because this event should be a lot of fun.
Here are six storylines to watch for as the festivities begin.
1. Will the US streak live? What if it does? The Presidents Cup is the opposite of the Ryder Cup. The United States is 8-1-1 all time in these competitions and hasn't lost since 1998. They have the better team on paper, but we all know how much that means. What's interesting is how much importance the International team is putting on this year's event. “I will tell you guys, this is a really important Presidents Cup,” International captain Nick Price said. “I’m not going to say, ‘What if?’ But this better be closely contested. I’ll let you guys figure out the repercussions.”
2. Sangmoon Bae will want to put on a show. This is Bae's last tournament before he enters the South Korean military. Strangely, Price sat him for the opening matches because his presumed playing partner Charl Schwartzel is sick. How cool would it be for Bae to win it for his home country? "I'll be very happy and I'll be genuinely honored, especially because personally I'm going through a lot of things these days,” he said. “It will mean a lot to me, so I'm determined to do my very best.”
3. What is Jordan Spieth's role? Spieth has gone from coy youngster just trying to get the old guys some points to team leader in exactly 24 months. He told captain Jay Haas he wanted Dustin Johnson as his playing partner for the Thursday matches. "They have been wanting this pairing," Haas said. "And what Jordan wants, Jordan gets right now." Sounds like something somebody would have said about mid-2000s Tiger Woods.
4. Can Jason Day carry the International team? An International squad sporting the likes of Thonchai Jaidee and Anirban Lahiri needs the hottest golfer on the planet to go 4-1 or 5-0 to have a chance. The crazy part? He absolutely can do that. “I think everyone looks up to the way he plays, he’s definitely got a lot of respect among the players,” Price said. “He’s going to inspire everyone on the team.”
5. Those pesky cameras. Pray for Ted Scott? Pray for Ted Scott.
Todd Lewis on GC saying silent mode when taking photos is illegal in South Korea, so there's a constant buzz and clatter #PrayForTedScott
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) October 6, 2015
6. Will we get what we all want? I'll let Price describe it. “The absolute perfect scenario for all of us would be Jordan and Jason in the final group, playing the 18th hole, the whole thing tied up,” Price said. “Then who is going to complain about the four-point change?”
