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The best day of any of the Cup events is upon us. It’s singles day.

The best test of one-on-one golf there is. Just you and one other person, playing a completely different style of golf than you would in a tournament. You don’t have to worry about the rest of the field or even the rest of your team.

The cliche of ‘one hole at a time’ is not just a saying, but a strategy. You blow up one hole, shake it off and get it back the next. Match play takes the big number’s bad repercussions out of play.

It’s a beautiful thing.

After the first three sessions, I have a perfectly mediocre picking record of 9-8. I finally got off the .500 schneid yesterday with a 3-2 performance in the early foursomes (hold your applause) and I’m looking to build on it.

Here we go with today’s matches predictions…

Match No. 1: Webb Simpson vs. KT Kim

  • Simpson continues his tradition of heading out first, but this time he’ll be without Bubba Watson. KT Kim showed signs of life in the afternoon four-balls and he got a point over Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson. If the Internationals want to come back, it needs to start early. Predicition: Simpson 2 and 1.

Match No. 2: Dustin Johnson vs. Charl Schwartzel

  • Schwartzel has played well this week, garnering 2½ points of a possible 4. Johnson has been hitting the ball well, but he hasn’t been able to finish off opponents because of his sub-par putting. Prediction: Schwartzel 3 & 2.

Match No. 3: Bubba Watson vs. Ryo Ishikawa

  • Both players have played well this week, but Bubba has the upper hand having beaten the young gun from Japan twice already. I just love the way Ishikawa putts. I don’t doubt how much Bubba wants it, but Ryo has to have it. Prediction: Ishikawa 1 up.

Match No. 4: Bill Haas vs. Geoff Ogilvy

  • The Mustachioed Ogilvy has beaten Haas once and halved the other in their head-to-head match-ups so far this week. Add on the fact that he’s playing in his back yard, literally, and his experience, the FedEx Cup champ, Haas has a tall order. Prediction: Ogilvy 2 and 1.

Match No. 5: Hunter Mahan vs. Jason Day

  • Two of my favorites coming into this week as far as point-earners go, this one shouldn’t be short on emotion. Day, playing for his home country and Mahan playing for Ryder Cup redemption. Who pulls it out? I have no idea. Prediction: Day 1 up.

Match No. 6: Nick Watney vs. KJ Choi

  • Watney turned in an impressive four-ball performance yesterday, but the Tank is solid all the way around. I like KJ. Prediction: Choi 1 up.

Match No. 7: Phil Mickelson vs. Adam Scott

  • This should be a really fun match to watch. Scott is playing some of the best golf in the world and Mickelson has reaffirmed this week why you can never count him out. The match play format favors Mickelson’s risk/reward style of play, but only if he gets enough rewards. Prediction: Mickelson 1 up

Match No. 8: Matt Kuchar vs. Retief Goosen

  • Two laid-back, yet fire burning on the inside guys. Kuchar is a younger version of the Goose, so I’ll ride that rosey-cheeked goofball all the way. Prediction: Kuchar 2 and 1.

Match No. 9: Jim Furyk vs. Ernie Els

  • Furyk could go 5-0-0 with a win over the Big Easy in singles. It appears as if both of these guys have reverted to their 2010 form this week when they were two of the best in the world, regardless of age. Another great battle. Prediction: Els 2 up.

Match No. 10: David Toms vs. Robert Allenby

  • Two guys who have gone pretty unnoticed this week. Toms has played well alongside Hunter Mahan and Allenby can’t get a putt to drop. Stick with what got you here. Prediction: Toms 3 and 2

Match No. 11: Tiger Woods vs. Aaron Baddeley:

  • Surprising that Tiger isn’t going out last, but Baddeley should give Eldrick all he can handle. Even when he’s not at his best in tournament play, Woods is still the greatest match-play golfer ever. No questions asked. Prediction: Woods 2 and 1.

Match No. 12: Steve Stricker vs. YE Yang

  • Coming down to the anchor match, I have the Americans barely reclaiming the Cup. This match could mean everything or nothing, like we saw last year with Mahan at the Ryder Cup. Tough pick here, anyway. Yang has been hit or miss this week and we don’t know what to expect from Stricker. Prediction: Yang 1 up.

*****

By my count, I have the US winning the Presidents Cup again, but you never know. The Internationals have some strong players and favorable match ups. Any way you slice it, it should be a fun night of golf. Enjoy.