International captain Gary Player has split close friends Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby for the opening round of the Presidents Cup in South Africa.

The Victorians have played together with limited success in matchplay events and their record is two losses from two outings in the Cup's short history.

There will be six foursomes matches played on Thursday before five four-ball matches and five matches of foursomes on the Friday.

Meanwhile, United States captain Jack Nicklaus has been struck down by a stomach bug on the eve of the event, but is expected to be available to guide his players.

US captain's assistant Jeff Sluman stood in at the announcement of the opening pairings.

Appleby will play with Korean K.J. Choi against the US pairing of world No.1 Tiger Woods and young gun Charles Howell III.

Allenby has been paired with fellow Aussie Stephen Leaney against the veteran American duo of Jay Haas and Fred Funk who have a combined age of 96 years between them.

"It's a real good fit, we've got canes, we can get down," Funk said prior to the announcement.

Young gun Adam Scott will play with world No.3 Ernie Els against US pair of Justin Leonard and Jim Furyk.

Australia's Peter Lonard will have his hands full playing with fellow debutant Tim Clark against top ten players Davis Love III and Kenny Perry.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP