SARASOTA, Fla., Nov. 12, 2015 – The pairings are set for Friday’s opening four-ball matches of the 2015 ISPS Handa Cup.

Team USA’s Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst will be the first out against the World Team’s Catriona Matthew of Scotland and Canada’s Lorie Kane. The opening match starts at 9 a.m., at Palm Aire Country Club.

Six four-ball (best-ball) matches will be played Friday on the front nine, followed by six foursomes matches (modified alternate shot) on the back nine. The afternoon matches will start at 1 p.m.

Matthew and Kane will remain paired together in the afternoon foursomes for the World Team, but will face Americans Beth Daniel and Laurie Rinker.

This week’s event marks the 10 annual staging of the Handa Cup. Team U.S.A. hopes to defend its title. The Americans wrestled back the cup in 2014 with a 28-20 victory over an international squad that won the 2013 event for the first time.

The team stroke-play event between the United States and the eight-nation World Team will feature players on both sides who have competed in the LPGA’s biennial Solheim Cup, a team match-play event.

The Americans have won seven Handa Cup titles outright, and tied the World Team in 2012 to retain the Cup. The World team won in 2013 and is looking for a second victory.

The event’s format is 36 holes of stroke play within matches made up of either two-person teams or a single player. The entire competition is held over two days with 18 holes of play each day.

Single-day admission is $10 and a three-day pass is $25 and includes access to practice-round day, team matches and singles matches.

For more information about The Legends Tour, the official senior tour of the LPGA, visit www.thelegendstour.com.

Listed below are the pairings for the Friday Handa Cup matches:

Morning Matches: Four Ball (Best Ball), Front 9

9 a.m. Catriona Matthew/Lorie Kane vs. Juli Inkster/Pat Hurst

9:12 a.m. Helen Alfredsson/Jan Stephenson vs. Danielle Ammaccapane/Kris Tschetter

9:24 a.m. Laura Davies/Trish Johnson vs. Beth Daniel/Laurie Rinker

9:36 a.m. Dawn Coe-Jones/Jane Crafter vs. Rosie Jones/Michele Redman

9:48 a.m. Wendy Doolan/Jenny Lidback vs. Meg Mallon/Christa Johnson

10 a.m. Alicia Dibos/Liselotte Neumann vs. Pat Bradley/Barb Mucha

Afternoon Matches: Foursomes (Modified Alternate Shot), Back 9

1 p.m. Catriona Matthew/Lorie Kane vs. Beth Daniel/Laurie Rinker

1:12 p.m. Dawn Coe-Jones/Meiko Nomura vs. Rosie Jones/Michele Redman

1:24 p.m. Wendy Doolan/Jenny Lidback vs. Danielle Ammaccapane/Kris Tschetter

1:36 p.m. Helen Alfredsson/Jan Stephenson vs. Pat Bradley/Barb Mucha

1:48 p.m. Alicia Dibos/Liselotte Neumann vs. Juli Inkster/Pat Hurst

2 p.m. Laura Davies/Trish Johnson vs. Meg Mallon/Christa Johnson

Pairings Set For Friday’s ISPS Handa Cup Matches

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