From the 14th green, spectators can see Nos. If International Captain Peter Thomson had his way, alternate shot play would be eliminated in all future Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup competition. I'd even pay money for that. His nightmare is what has occurred over the first two days of play here in the Presidents Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. There have been 10 alternate shot matches, where each player literally alternates hitting one ball per team until it's in the hole or conceded.
Players alternate off every tee, one man taking the odd numbers, the other the even.
The nightmare is this. The American team has won nine of those 10 alternate shot matches so far, and will take a 10-5 lead in points going into the weekend. There are 17 matches remaining, five in better ball on Saturday afternoon, and 12 singles matches starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Thomson, a native Australian and five-time British Open champion, is probably right. No one in his part of the world ever plays in the format, and certainly it's rarely used in the U.S. either.