JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- The emergence of Justin Thomas in 2017 as more than Jordan Spieth's buddy and a true force in the game bodes extremely well for American fortunes in team competition for years to come.
It seemed only a matter of time before Thomas, who just a few days ago capped a remarkable season with his FedEx Cup triumph, became a key player in Cup competition.
And despite some early jitters, he hardly looked like a rookie on Thursday during the opening day of the Presidents Cup at Liberty National, where he teamed with Rickie Fowler to rout Hideki Matsuyama and Charl Schwartzel, 6 and 4.
Throw in the Spieth-Patrick Reed whipping of rookies Emiliano Grillo and Si Woo Kim, 5 and 4, and the captain's duties become much easier. The U.S. took a 3½ to 1½ lead on the opening day, with 15½ points needed to win the Presidents Cup.
Those four players and two pairings can and should be U.S. automatics in team competition for years to come. Jim Furyk, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain in 2018, can all but pencil them in for all the matches in France.
"Time will tell, but they are a great pairing, and it really helps when guys know each other so well,'' said Furyk, who is serving as an assistant to U.S. captain Steve Stricker. "It helped for Justin to have someone he knew, and once he settled, it's great to have a player you trust and have confidence in.''
Thomas and Fowler have obviously yet to be able to forge any history together, but the Spieth-Reed tandem dates to the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, where they were bright spots in an otherwise bleak U.S. defeat.
Reed emerged as a team star, going undefeated that week and teaming with Spieth to go 2-0-1. Although they played just once two years ago at the Presidents Cup in South Korea, they won their lone match. Last year at Hazeltine, they again teamed up well, going 2-1-1.
After their victory Thursday, Spieth and Reed are now 6-1-2 in American team competition in the past four years.
And they have what might be considered an unusual reason for their success.
"We try to beat each other that day,'' Spieth said. "It's like a weird way that helps our team out because we don't like one of us getting more credit than the other. It's kind of a weird pride thing for us, but it's been successful.''
Whatever works. It would seem harder to have that mindset in the foursomes format used Thursday, when they alternate shots. Reed said they simply try to out-do each other. And it makes complete sense in four-ball, the Friday format, when each player plays his own ball and can try his best to beat his partner while in the process of taking care of the other team.
"We always have the same kind of mindset,'' Reed said. "Go out and play the best golf we can. It doesn't matter who we are playing against, we're going after each other, and if we do that, hopefully we come out on top.''
There was never much doubt Thursday. Spieth and Reed never trailed, and lost just 3 holes. They went up for good at the fourth hole, increased their lead to 4-up through seven holes and never let the lead get less than two.
In a way, it was a needed result for the Americans, who were heavily favored over the rookie team of Grillo and Kim.
Fowler and Thomas was less of a sure thing. Matsuyama has had a strong year and is playing in his third Presidents Cup, while Schwartzel is a major champion and also a veteran of the competition.
But after the International side went 1-up after two holes, they managed to win just a single hole the rest of the way. In fact, they shot 42 over the par-37 first nine holes, allowing Fowler and Thomas to win four holes with pars.
Still, they managed to make three birdies in a tough format and kept the pressure on, cruising to an easy victory.
"We're very comfortable around each other,'' said Fowler, noting they live near each other in South Florida and play numerous practice rounds together. "We know our limits, in a way. I can push and say stuff to him that I know may not be the best things to other people. I know his game very well and he knows mine very well, and it's fun to put the two together.''
For all U.S. captains, it is quite possible to consider putting those two -- and the Spieth-Reed duo -- together for years to come.
In fact, they'll all be together on Friday during the four-ball format, with Spieth and Reed going off first against Matsuyama and Adam Hadwin and Fowler and Thomas following against Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace.
"You can see these guys playing together on a lot of future teams,'' Stricker said.