Things turned out so well for the Americans, even Tiger and Phil hugged it out. (Getty Images)

4-2 is all that matters, but…

All you’ll hear about on Sportscenter today as well as in many golfing circles is that Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, somehow dubbed the Americans best team, got waxed by Adam Scott and KJ Choi, 7 & 6.

Never mind that Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson, two Presidents Cup rookies, went out in the first group and beat Ernie Els and Ryo Ishikawa handily, despite the International team playing some really good golf.

Never mind Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk turned back the clock and turned on their putters to beat Retief Goosen and Robert Allenby 4 & 3 and that Hunter Mahan and David Toms laid the smack down on KT Kim and YE Yang to win 6 & 5.

Never mind that two American teams fought back from having their backs on the mat to scratch out two half points, essentially erasing the early advantage the Internationals appeared to have.

No, forget all that. Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker got beat. That’s all we’ll hear about, but that might be the least compelling storyline of the entire day.

First of all, who decided that the Woods/Stricker team was America’s best twotsome?

Woods hasn’t won in two years and regardless of his recent play, he still needs to depend on his partner for half of his team’s shots. That partner hasn’t played a competitive round of golf in six weeks. The rust showed as Stricker sprayed his ball all over Royal Melbourne. The pair were unable to card a single birdie in the 12 holes they played before conceding defeat.

Many are saying that this is a bad sign for the Americans, but I’d argue that it would be just the opposite. Woods doesn’t do too well with getting badly beat. He responds to that kind of disappointment with great play. The end of the Stricker/Woods pairing may be over, but I’m not so sure that it will be to the detriment of the Americans.

US captain, Fred Couples, has to be pleased with where his squad stands after the first day. Losing just one match, although it was the most notable one, is really not that bad of a way to start an event in enemy territory. The strong play by Watson and Simpson, Mahan and Toms, Mickelson and Furyk  and even the comeback by Bill Haas and Nick Watney allowed Captain Couples to implement the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ mentality with his second day pairings.

I went 3-3 on my predications yesterday if were going solely upon picking the winning team, so I’ll try and improve on that today. Let’s look ahead at the matches for this afternoon.

**Also, make sure you’re aware of the change in schedule. Due to pending inclement weather in Melbourne, the tee times have been moved up two hours for the Friday four-ball matches meaning the broadcast will come on live at 5:30 p.m. on the Golf Channel. Plan accordingly.**

Match No. 1: Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson vs. Ernie Els and Ryo Ishikawa

  • A rematch of yesterday’s opening match, Els and Ishikawa jumped out to a two hole lead early and played pretty well throughout, shooting 3-under. However, the pair of Watson and Simpson were synced up beautifully. Bubba hit iron shots with steely-eyed confidence and they both rolled in the meaningful putts. The question is can they do it again? Prediction: Americans 1 up.

Match No. 2: Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson vs. Jason Day and Aaron Baddeley

  • No real surprise here with the Woods/DJ pairing beings as Couples hinted at it earlier in the week and both struggled with different partners in the foursomes. This should be a very entertaining match with Woods trying to redeem himself from yesterday, but the Aussies are also in the mood for some redemption as they lost the last two holes of their match to settle for only half of a point. Prediction: Match halved.

Match No. 3: Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk vs. Adam Scott and KT Kim

  • An interesting move by Norman to split up Scott and Choi, but it might have been in order to put a sizzling hot A. Scott with a struggling Kim to pick him back up. Mickelson and Furyk said after their match yesterday that they’ve wanted to play together in these events for years, but haven’t had the chance to yet. They got it both days so far. Predicition: Match halved.

Match No. 4: Bill Haas and Nick Watney vs. Geoff Ogilvy and KJ Choi

  • Perhaps the strongest team for the Internationals, Ogilvy and his moustache add KJ Choi to their wild ride Down Under. Haas and Watney showed some nerve coming back to get a halve yesterday, but the combination of Choi, Ogilvy and his moustache should give the youngsters all they can handle. Prediction: Internationals 3 and 2.

Match No. 5: Steve Stricker and Matt Kuchar vs. YE Yang and Robert Allenby

  • Going strictly off of yesterday’s play, this has to be the weakest team the Internationals will put out. This is a good spot for Stricker and Kuchar who both left some shots out on the course yesterday. Yang said he doesn’t like the course and Allenby has been struggling. I like the Americans here. Predicition: Americans 4 and 3.

Match No. 6: Hunter Mahan and David Toms vs. Charl Schwartzel and Retief Goosen

  • My guy Hunter Mahan makes his triumphant return to the last match with partner David Toms. They absolutely smoked Kim and Yang yesterday. Schwartzel is playing some decent golf, but the Goose has been struggling. I don’t see Schwartzel doing it all on his own and the Americans are on a roll. Prediction: America 2 and 1.

Predicted Score after Thursday: America 3½, Internationals 2½

Actual Score after Thursday: America 4, Internationals 2

Predicted Score after Friday: America  7½, Internationals 4½

*****

That’s all for today. Don’t forget the change in tee times, which will probably be a welcomed switch for the older golf fans who want to get to bed early. Enjoy the Presidents Cup.