In 2022, Matt Jones was utilized by Ripper GC in foursomes alongside Wade Ormsby, who’s no longer on the team. In 2023, it was more of the same as Jones paired with Jediah Morgan. Last year, Jones played with Captain Cameron Smith, and the duo lost to Garcia and Abraham Ancer of Fireballs GC, but the team was able to advance with singles matches wins by Lucas Herbert and Leishman.
Given that the foursome pairings haven’t stuck for Ripper, it makes sense for them to give the Leishman and Jones a chance to shine. They’ll take on an extremely difficult opponent in Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who’ve played in multiple Presidents Cups together.
COURSE ANALYSIS: ODD VS. EVEN HOLES
The Cardinal at St. John’s layout provides an interesting angle for foursomes strategy. All three par 3s are odd-numbered, so the odd-hole player handles five tee shots on par-4s and par 5s and 13 approach shots, including each of the par-3 tee shots. The even-hole player takes all nine tee shots on par-4 and par-5 holes, but only five approach shots, while managing three times as many first putts as his playing partner.
Therefore, the stronger approach player should tee off on odd holes, where iron play is paramount, while the better driver and putter takes the even holes. DeChambeau emphasized this approach for Casey and Howell: “I feel like they’ll choose to have [Paul Casey] on the par 3s.”
ADDITIONAL STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS
Beyond shot distribution, foursomes strategy involves nuanced factors like playing style compatibility and equipment choices, such as pairing players who use the same golf ball, as they aren’t allowed to replace the ball to their preference in between shots.
RangeGoats GC captain Bubba Watson highlighted these elements when discussing the RangeGoats’ foursome team of Matthew Wolff and Peter Uihlein: “In our team matchup, (Wolff and Uihlein) play the same golf ball, so there’s no worries there. They play at home back down in West Palm. They’re members at the same course, and they play the same kind of game, hit the ball hard off the tee and then try to find it and hit it onto the green.”
