ESPN 2008 Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup: US Team Not Dwelling On The Past

Memebers of the United States Ryder Cup team talk about focusing on this year's eventTags: Golf, Paul Azinger, Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk, J.b. Holmes

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Ryder Cup: US Team Not Dwelling On The Past

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Kentucky pairing of Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes will have to wait.

After hinting all week that he might send the popular local duo out first to kick off the 37th Ryder Cup matches on Friday morning, U.S. captain Paul Azinger instead went with Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim to lead off the foursomes competition and left Holmes on the sideline for the morning session.

Perry, meanwhile, will be paired with Jim Furyk and anchor the four two-man alternate shot competition.

Mickelson, who has performed poorly in his previous three Ryder Cup appearances, lobbied Azinger to play with Kim and got his wish. The Ryder Cup rookie has won two tournaments this year and established himself as one of the top young players in the game.

But they'll get a formidable opponent in Ireland's Padraig Harrington, who has won two major championships this year, and Sweden's Robert Karlsson, who is coming off a victory on Sunday in Germany.

Sobel On Friday's Foursomes

Now that the opening matchups for the Ryder Cup have been set, ESPN.com's Jason Sobel analyzes all the Friday foursomes pairings and share his predictions. Jason Sobel

That match will be followed by Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan against Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey; Stewart Cink and Chad Campbell against Justin Rose and Ian Poulter; and Perry-Furyk versus Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.

"I think Kenny and J.B. together is a fantastic idea," Azinger said. "My intention is to get 12 players out the first day, and I'm going to stick to that. And just the way I decided to do it was for alternate shot [foursomes] to put Kenny Perry with Jim Furyk.

"Both of those guys have alternate shot experience. For Furyk, that is a nice format as well as he hits it, and Kenny Perry actually likes alternate shot better than anything else. So it made sense to me that that would be a really solid pairing. Kenny has played terrific all week, and I like him going out fourth."

European captain Nick Faldo went with a lineup many expected.

"I've got a very strong team," Faldo said. "I had a couple of good options, but this is the one I've gone with.

"To open with our current Open and PGA Champion, and the most recent winner anywhere out of the two teams, Robert Karlsson ... you can see the strengths. Henrik/Paul Casey, two guys who bomb it a mile. Rose and Poulter, very impressed with those two guys ... and bringing up the rear, a former partnership, and again, consistency of Lee and the passion of Sergio. That's a pretty strong four pairing, pretty strong eight guys."

Foursomes pairings

Pairings for the opening foursomes matches at the Ryder Cup. Play begins at 8:05 a.m. ET (ESPN), with Phil Mickelson (pictured) in the opening group:

• 8:05 a.m. ET: Phil Mickelson/Anthony Kim (USA) vs. Padraig Harrington/Robert Karlsson (Europe)
• 8:20 a.m. ET: Justin Leonard/Hunter Mahan (USA) vs. Henrik Stenson/Paul Casey (Europe)
• 8:35 a.m. ET: Stewart Cink/Chad Campbell (USA) vs. Justin Rose/Ian Poulter (Europe)
• 8:50 a.m. ET: Kenny Perry/Jim Furyk (USA) vs. Lee Westwood/Sergio Garcia (Europe)

No doubt, Perry and Furyk will have their hands full in the last match. Garcia is 8-0 in this format while Westwood is 6-2-2.

"I haven't focused on anything that Nick is thinking or doing," said Azinger, when asked if he tried to guess which order Faldo would send out his players. "I haven't seen any of his guys hit a practice ball or a chip shot or play a hole, except for TV a little bit on the news. ... I have my players positioned where I want them to be."

Sitting out for the Americans will be Holmes, Ben Curtis, Steve Stricker and Boo Weekley. If Azinger does play everyone Friday, he'll have a tough decision to make and must do so before the finish of the morning matches. The afternoon format is four-ball, or best ball.

The Europeans who will wait are Ryder Cup rookies Soren Hansen, Oliver Wilson and Graeme McDowell along with veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.