JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Nick Price is committed to not overthinking things this week at the Presidents Cup, and there was one aspect of his job that truly required no thought.
When he penciled in his pairings for Day 1, there was one tandem that required zero discussion, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, who led the International team two years ago in South Korea with a perfect 4-0-0 record in team play.
The South African duo picked up where they left off on Thursday, taking an early lead in their match against Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger and winning three of their last five holes for a 3-and-1 victory.
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“They just feed off each other those two. They are such a great blend in match play, when one’s out of the hole the other one is in it,” Price said. “It’d be hard to break them up.”
Price admitted some of his pairings, most notably Hideki Matsuyama and Charl Schwartzel, struggled in Thursday’s winds because of the one-ball rule that is used in foursomes play. With Oosthuizen and Grace, that isn’t an issue – they both play the same golf ball.
Two years after South Korea, the duo also showed the same chemistry that made them unbeatable in 2015.
“We play similar styles of golf. We both hit it similar distances. You know, we actually both get very streaky at stages, as well,” Grace said. “We are good mates. We live close to each other in Palm Beach [Fla.] and we get along great.”
Price didn’t hesitate to send his strongest pairing back out on Friday for the fourballs session, when they will play Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, who also won their Day 1 match.
Source: Internet
