A $US50 million ($A73m) purse is on the line for the 13 teams in the event which will run from Friday through to Sunday at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.
Top-seed and defending team champions Crushers GC, second-seed Legion XIII featuring individual champion Jon Rahm, and Ripper GC will be joined by Friday’s five winning teams in head-to-head matches on Saturday.
Ripper GC comprises captain Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert.
The four winning teams on Saturday advance to 18 holes of stroke play on Sunday.
Brooks Koepka, captain of fourth-seeded Smash GC, had the first draft pick and could have chosen any of the nine other competing teams as their opponent. Koepka went with 13th-place Iron Heads GC.
“Just went from the bottom up,” Koepka said. “I think that’s the way we did it. I just felt like we’ve got a good chance. We’ll see what happens.”
When the draft was complete, the teams revealed their lineups for the quarter-finals of two singles and one foursome for their four players. Each of the three matches is worth one point.
Though this is the first time in the three-year history of the event captains aren’t required to play singles, Koepka is holding to form and will face Kevin Na, captain of the Iron Heads.
Na said that’s what he expected.
“I thought about throwing a curveball in there, but I talked to the guys, and everybody actually wanted to play singles, which is a good sign,” Na said.
“I know Brooks is obviously a tough opponent, going against a five-time major champion. But in match play, I’ve taken down some people in match play and I can make a few putts. Hopefully that happens.”
HyFlyers captain Phil Mickelson was among several captains to play in the foursome for their teams. Mickelson will partner with Brendan Steele against Torque GC, while teammates Andy Ogletree and Cameron Tringale are playing singles.
Quarter-finals:
Smash GC vs Iron Heads GC – Singles: Brooks Koepka (S) vs Kevin Na (IH); Talor Gooch vs Danny Lee. Foursome: Jason Kokrak/Graeme McDowell vs Jinichiro Kozuma/Scott Vincent.
Torque GC vs HyFlyers GC – Singles: Joaquin Niemann (T) vs Andy Ogletree (HF); Sebastian Munoz vs Cameron Tringale. Foursome: Mito Pereira/Carlos Ortiz vs Phil Mickelson/Brendan Steele.
Fireballs GC vs Majesticks GC – Singles: Eugenio Chacarra (F) vs Henrik Stenson (M); David Puig vs Ian Poulter. Foursome: Sergio Garcia/Abraham Ancer vs Lee Westwood/Sam Horsfield.
Stinger GC vs Cleeks GC – Singles: Branden Grace (S) vs Adrian Meronk (C); Dean Burmester vs Kalle Samooja. Foursome: Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel vs Martin Kaymer/Richard Bland.
RangeGoats GC vs 4Aces GC – Singles: Peter Uihlein (RG) vs Dustin Johnson (4A); Thomas Pieters vs Patrick Reed. Foursome: Bubba Watson/Matthew Wolff vs Harold Varner III/Pat Perez.
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