Inter-session: Looking back on Day 1, forward to Day 2 at the Presidents Cup

The U.S. Presidents Cup team carries a huge 4-1 edge into Day 2 of the Presidents Cup after winning all but one of five alternate-shot matches on Thursday in South Korea. The format changes for the Friday (Thursday night in the U.S.) slate of matches, switching to fourballs, also known as best ball.

The strategy for American captain Jay Haas is pretty simple: keep his winners in action. All four winning U.S. teams play together again on Friday, while the lone losing duo of Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed head to the bench so Haas’ son Bill and Chris Kirk can team together.

International captain Nick Price slotted his only winning team, South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, in the lead position to take on the American duo of Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth. Sangmoon Bae, the only man on the team who calls Korea home, gets in the lineup on Friday, teaming with Danny Lee, a New Zealander who was born in the host nation. Hideki Matsuyama and Anirban Lahiri head to the bench.

Here’s a look at the Friday docket:

Match 6 (9:35 a.m. local time/8:35 p.m. Eastern) — Dustin Johnson/Jordan Spieth (USA) vs. Louis Oosthizen/Branden Grace (Intl) — This should be the best match of the day. However, when Johnson gets in trouble, he doesn’t have Spieth to bail him out. And Spieth has to play off his own tee shots. So, their edge, really in foursomes, is somewhat mitigated against an all-South African team that clearly can feed off of each other.

Match 7 (9:50 a.m. local/8:50 p.m. Eastern) — Rickie Fowler/Jimmy Walker (USA) vs. Danny Lee/Sangmoon Bae (Intl) — Sangmoon Bae finally gets some action, teaming up with Danny Lee. This is a good spot for them, hopefully a spark for the South Korean crowd that desperately needs to offer some life for the Internationals. Fowler and Walker have proven to be a great duo, so they’re the right team for the home-country pair.

Match 8 (10:05 a.m. local/9:05 p.m. Eastern) — Zach Johnson/Phil Mickelson (USA) vs. Adam Scott/Jason Day (Intl) — For some reason, Mickelson and Johnson worked in alternate shot. The pairing doesn’t matter as much in fourballs, but their splendid short games should be a good mutual crutch. Scott rolled the ball OK with the traditional-length putter on Day 1, but the putts wouldn’t drop. Paired with a top-notch ballstriker like Day, Scott should feel more confidence on the greens.

Match 9 (10:20 a.m./9:20 p.m. Eastern) — J.B. Holmes/Bubba Watson (USA) vs. Marc Leishman/Steven Bowditch (Intl) — Holmes and Watson put on a short-game clinic in their Thursday match against Scott and Matsuyama, who were hapless with the putter. They should do even better in this format, where they can be even more aggressive with their similar power. Leishman and Bowditch are both Aussies, which may create some extra chemistry, but neither player has been hot of late.

Match 10 (10:35 a.m./9:35 a.m. Eastern) — Bill Haas/Chris Kirk (USA) vs. Thongchai Jaidee/Charl Schwartzel (Intl) — Haas and Kirk get in the game for the first time, and Haas will likely be motivated to play well in front of his dad. Who wouldn’t feel that way? Meanwhile, Schwartzel gets his first action, too, after dealing with flu-like symptoms that kept him (and Bae) out on Thursday. Expect the U.S. to cruise.

Coverage begins in the U.S. at 8:30 p.m. on Golf Channel.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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