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Australian young gun Cameron Smith is standing by his cheating comments about Patrick Reed despite it costing him his friendship with the US Presidents Cup star.

The pair have crossed paths during practice at Royal Melbourne this week with Smith revealing that Reed had ignored him.

The Texan was penalised two strokes during a tournament in Bahamas last week for improving his lie when he moved sand with his practise swing.

The 2018 Masters champion denied he intentionally broke the rules.

Smith had been outspoken with his criticism, saying Reed's justification was "bulls**t" and accused him of "cheating the rules".

Ahead of the opening day of the tournament the Internationals debutant said there was now tension between the pair.

"I'm sure he didn't like it," Smith said on Wednesday.

"I think there is a little bit of tension there. I've looked at Patrick a couple of times but he hasn't looked back."

The 26-year-old Queenslander said he and Reed shared a physio so were previously on good terms in the locker room but felt that may no longer be the case.

"I think our friendship, I guess, is not quite there any more," Smith said.

But the world No.52 didn't back down on his comments.

"I just think it's a case of what's right and what's wrong. I think there's something to be said about that."

Tired of tardy starts and playing catch-up, the Internationals are intent on getting off to a flyer in their bold bid to win golf's Presidents Cup for the first time in 21 years.

The International team has trailed the United States after the first-day foursomes or fourballs in nine of the past 12 editions of the biennial event and haven't won an opening session since 2005.

The sloppy starts have generally translated into defeat, with the rest of the world outfit having last had their hands on the cup in 1998.

Little wonder Ernie Els' underdogs plan on setting the pace when this year's showdown gets under way at Royal Melbourne on Thursday.

"We have to get off to a good start. As long as we can hang with them," said Internationals veteran and spearhead Adam Scott on Wednesday.

"Our team doesn't need to be chasing its tail out here. We don't need to be mounting a huge comeback."

Vice-captain Geoff Ogilvy was even more forthright when asked what would be a satisfactory start for the Internationals.

"It's nice to be in front. We have a track record of not being in front for this tournament," Ogilvy said.

"We would love to be in front after tomorrow, certainly."

But if Tiger Woods has anything to say about it, the Internationals will again find themselves trailing early after the USA's superstar playing captain picked himself for Thursday's opening match.

Woods and world No.4 Justin Thomas will face Marc Leishman and Chile's Cup rookie Joaquin Niemann.

But Ogilvy and fellow assistant Trevor Immelman are backing the Internationals to take it to the hot favourites.

"We're the youngest collective Presidents Cup team in history and it's pretty incredible, really," Immelman said of an International side featuring seven debutants and an average age of under 30.

"It's just a good blend. The young guys are just bouncing out of their skin to come play and the veteran guys, if you like are, too," Ogilvy said.

"But it's a different style. They get to the room and they see all their clothes and all the free stuff you get for this week, and just how well we get spoilt.

"The young guys, just the excitement level is just contagious, and I think that's what's good about having a blend of veterans and young guys ... everybody benefits from being around people who are good at something.

"The Scottys and the Leishmans get just as much out of the CTs and the Haotongs (CT Pan and Haotong Li) than the other way around."

While much has been made of the Internationals' home-course advantage, Ogilvy hopes jet lag for the US team and less time for Woods' men to acclimatise will prove more of a factor.

"Professional golfers are professional golf course learners. This is what we do every week," Ogilvy said.

"I'm pretty sure the US team is going to have it, how to play Royal Melbourne, mostly squared away by tomorrow morning.

"And the crowd I think is going to help if they get on our side a little bit... when you feel like you have got 20,000 members of your team as opposed to 12.

"That really, really helps. That's more powerful.

"And our guys have been here longer, been in Australia in the time zone for a few more days than the US guys and that might help, too."

United States heavyweight Dustin Johnson has declared himself fully-fit and ready to deliver for his captain Tiger Woods when the Presidents Cup gets underway on Thursday at Royal Melbourne.

The world No.5 underwent knee surgery in September and withdrew from Woods' tournament in the Bahamas last week, which the team used to fine-tune Cup preparations.

But the 35-year-old, who was the highest-ranked American until slipping a spot behind Justin Thomas this week, said he was available to play as many matches as Woods demanded.

"I'll play as many as Tiger wants me to play - I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready to play," Johnson said on Wednesday.

The long-time world No.1 impressed his teammates and captain's assistants Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson during practice, particularly given his long lay off.

"He looks great out there," Stricker said of 2016 US Open champion, who is gunning for his fourth Presidents Cup title.

"He's hitting it a long way, as he normally does.

"His knee is not an issue at all - he's feeling good and hitting it well."

Fellow assistant Zach Johnson said there was a buzz amongst the US team.

"On first day out everybody kind of had a little bit of fog there early but the last 12 holes, even the guys he was playing with are like, 'Oh, someone's back'," Zach Johnson said.

Johnson was in stellar form early in 2019, finishing runner up in both the Masters and PGA Championship with his form dip coinciding with his knee trouble.

"Obviously I had a pretty good start to the season but in the back half, I was struggling a little bit," Johnson said.

"What I was struggling with in my golf swing, you definitely could relate it to the knee with what I was doing, which was hanging back too much and just not controlling the golf ball well enough."

While stacked with top 20 players, the US team will be relying on Johnson's experience, with only veteran Matt Kuchar and playing captain Woods taking part in more Presidents Cup tournaments.

The trio, as well as Webb Simpson, were part of the 2011 team that won at Royal Melbourne.

All business, Tiger Woods' star-studded Team USA are on a week-long booze ban as they look to put the Internationals to the sword for the eighth straight Presidents Cup.

Last time Woods was in Australia a decade ago, the 15-time major winner's world came crashing down after revelations of his infidelity and late-night antics first emerged.

But Rickie Fowler, one of Woods' captain's picks, has revealed there'll be no such partying - not until Sunday anyway.

The Americans made a pact pre-tournament they would have a dry week to ensure they were at their best as they looked to take down the Internationals.

"It was a team consensus; everyone just decided to have a dry week," Fowler told AAP at Royal Melbourne on Wednesday.

"It was an idea that was thrown out and everyone jumped on board.

"We are down here to play golf and try and play the best we can and we can celebrate and have some fun on Sunday night before we head home."

Woods, the first playing captain since 1994, has left no stone unturned in his preparation with the US players.

But his only nocturnal antics have been incessant text messages to teammates to fire them up.

The team shared drinks after Woods' tournament in the Bahamas last weekend and then a couple on the plane early in the 26-hour flight.

But since then it's been booze-free.

Fowler, who replaced injured world No.1 Brooks Koepka last month, said the team felt that staying away from alcohol would help them recover better from the long-haul flight.

The US are treating the threat of the Internationals seriously despite boasting all but Fowler in the world's top 20.

In the tournament's 25-year history the International team have only won once, in 1998, but that also came at Royal Melbourne.

South African veteran Louis Oosthuizen said this week he felt the mix of youth and experience gave his team their best chance of a win from the sides he's been involved in.

US spearhead Dustin Johnson, who is suiting up for his fourth edition, said his team would need to be at their best to continue their winning streak.

"They have a great team - we have a great team. We have to play well if we want to beat them," Johnson said.

Tiger Woods has ensured a showstopper start to the Presidents Cup after selecting himself for Thursday's opening four-ball match at Royal Melbourne.

The United States' superstar playing captain will team up with world No.4 Justin Thomas after opting to taking on the International pairing of Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann.

The 15-times major winner is intent on striking the first blow for the US.

"From our side, we had a game plan, who we wanted to start out, and we were committed to putting Justin and myself out there, and that's who we're rolling with," Woods said at Wednesday's draw.

Interestingly, with an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, Woods picked five first-time pairings for day-one duties, with Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler the heavy favourites' two unlucky omissions.

As promised, Woods kept faith in Patrick Reed, partnering up golf's bad boy with Webb Simpson just days after he was penalised for cheating in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

Reed and Simpson will face Hideki Matsuyama and CT Pan in the fourth match of the opening session.

Internationals captain Ernie Els overlooked Cameron Smith, as well as Haotong Li, for the four-balls.

But as well as Leishman taking on Tiger, Smith's fellow Australian Adam Scott will combine with captain's pick Byeong Hun An hoping to secure the Internationals a point against Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau in the third match.

"We have a system we are following and I can't let anything out of the bag more than that, but there's enough Australians out there tomorrow to rally a lot of guys," Els said.

"But as I said to them, we are all one this week - Australians, South Africans, the whole Internationals.

"Hopefully they will support us very nicely and very fair."

WHO PLAYS WHO IN THE OPENING FOURBALL MATCHES AT THE PRESIDENTS CUP ON THURSDAY:

Match one: Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann (Internationals) v Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas (USA)

Match two: Adam Hadwin and Sungjae Im (Internationals) v Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay (USA)

Match three: Adam Scott and Byeong Hun An (Internationals) v Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau (USA)

Match four: Hideki Matsuyama and CT Pan (Internationals) v Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson (USA)

Match five: Abraham Ancer and Louis Oosthuizen (Internationals) v Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland (USA)

Justin Thomas is no stranger to waking in the early hours, but it's usually due to texts from his US Presidents Cup captain Tiger Woods rather than from jet-lag.

Ahead of this week's Royal Melbourne tournament, when the US will look to stretch their dominance over the International team with an eighth straight victory, Thomas revealed the obsession of his playing captain.

Woods is the first playing captain since 1994, when three-time US Open winner Hale Irwin led the Americans to a commanding win.

World No.4 Thomas, who is struggling to recover from their 26-hour haul from the Bahamas to Melbourne, said Woods had left no stone unturned.

"You definitely get more texts between one and four am than any other captain, that's for sure," said Thomas, who played in the 2017 Presidents Cup and 2018 Ryder Cup teams.

"He takes it very seriously and he wants to be a captain that has a great winning record.

"He doesn't want there to be a lot of unknowns and I think that's something that he's done very well with."

Thomas said the "Tiger factor" would help the US team in foreign territory as his legend topped his stature as team captain.

"He's Tiger Woods - everyone, it doesn't matter where you go in the world, people are going to root for him," Thomas, who won the 2017 PGA Championship said.

"Obviously, they would rather the people on their own team play better, but yeah, I think just the fact that who is he speaks for itself."

US team rookie and world No.7 Patrick Cantalay said 15-time major winner Woods could handle the dual role and lead his team to victory.

Cantalay, Thomas, Woods and Patrick Reed, who is set to be the US team villain after cheating allegations last week, played their first practice round together.

"I think if anyone is suited to do, it Tiger is, and he's definitely on top of everything and he's got a lot of responsibilities this week," the 27-year-old said.

"Tiger is playing great - his game looks really good.

"I'm sure he won't have too much difficulty doing it all this week, and like I said, if anybody's up for the challenge, it's him."

South African veteran Louis Oosthuizen concedes it could be do or die for the Presidents Cup if the International team don't make a stand at Royal Melbourne this week.

But he feels this is the Internationals' best chance from the four tournaments he's been involved in, including the 2015 team which had a one-point loss.

The US have won 10 of the 12 editions of the tournament, with the sole victory by the Internationals coming at the same venue back in 1998.

They also had a draw in South Africa in 2003, but the last Cup, played at Liberty National in New Jersey, was a thumping eight-point win for the home team.

Making his Presidents Cup debut in 2013, Oosthuizen said the tournament needed some tight competition to survive.

"I think we're almost at that point," the world No.20 said.

"Running up against a brick wall in New York with an unbelievable in-form US Team, was just a very difficult that week.

"I think this week, this is probably the best chance we will have with this golf course, this crowd, and I think the way our guys are playing.

"I think this is probably the best chance that we'll have in the four Cups that I've played."

With seven International debutants, he felt the team carried few scars from Presidents Cup past and that could prove the difference.

"I think it's the youth in our team - it's a lot of youngsters and a lot of rookies, and it's great to see how eager they are and how ready they are to get this done," he said.

"That's where I feel Ernie (team captain Ernie Els) has done an unbelievable job getting all of us ready and the boys are playing good golf."

Winner of the 2010 British Open, as well as finishing second in four other majors, Oosthuizen has had a stellar preparation for the tournament.

He finished with an eagle for a final round 66 to earn second spot in last week's Australian Open.

"My game is good - I'm playing nicely and I'm putting nicely," he said.

"I used it as preparation and obviously I'll take a lot of confidence and hopefully we can pull it off."

He may not carry a shield but expect barbs from raucous Presidents Cup golf crowds in Melbourne to bounce right off 'Captain America' Patrick Reed.

The world No.12 earned the comic book moniker for his success playing for Team USA in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup and he may need to draw on some special powers at Royal Melbourne this week.

Reed got an early taste of what to expect when official play gets underway on Thursday when a cheeky fan introduced him on the first hole of his practice round as "The Excavator".

That was in reference to Reed's two-shot penalty for illegally improving his lie in a waste bunker during the World Challenge in the Bahamas last week.

Even his US teammate Justin Thomas trolled him, mimicking the shot during the round together.

The Texan took it in his stride.

"It was great - any time coming to an event like this, especially coming overseas, you expect to have the crowds against you, not on your side, so that's the name of the game," Reed said.

"To get the banter back and forth is awesome.

"I hope the fans aren't cheering for the US side - as an away team, you would expect the fans to be on the other side."

The International team have made him a target with South African Louis Oosthuizen saying it was a "stupid thing" and young Australian Cameron Smith described Reed's actions as "cheating".

The 2018 Masters champion denied he intentionally broke the rules and said his teammates accepted that.

US team captain Tiger Woods refused to be drawn on how much he will play Reed as the visitors look to extend their stranglehold on the event.

Players are required to play a minimum of two matches, which get underway with fourball contests on Thursday.

Woods on Tuesday downplayed the incident, saying they had spoken briefly and they had moved on.

"I think Pat will be fine," Woods said.

"Pat is a great kid.

"He's handled a tough upbringing well and I just think that he's one of our best team players, and that's one of the reasons why all the guys wanted him on the team."

Reed is likely to be paired with debutant Patrick Cantlay, with the duo previously playing together three times before in a team event in New Orleans.

World No.7 Cantlay, who said the incident had been "overblown", expected Reed to thrive under the extra pressure.

"He has a reputation for doing really well in match play and doing really well in those high-pressure situations, especially when there's some scrutiny on him, and that dates back all the way to college," Cantlay said.

Cantlay accepted that he would also likely be in the firing line if he was alongside Reed but didn't think it would prove a distraction.

"But yeah, it's part of the fun of team golf. We don't get it all the time. When you do get it, I feel like it's better to embrace it," he said.

"Once gun goes off on Thursday, I think it will just be golf."

Tiger Woods is backing his star-studded US team to use their remarkable combined golf IQ to get up to speed on Royal Melbourne before the opening rounds of the Presidents Cup on Thursday.

While Woods has played two Presidents Cup tournaments at the famed sand-belt course - in 1998 for a loss and 2011 for a win - almost half of his team have never seen it.

But the playing captain is confident they will be across Royal Melbourne's intricacies before the four-ball begins.

The Americans have 10 of their 12 players in the world top 20 while No.18 Adam Scott is the only one in the International team.

"As players, this is what we do - we travel all around the world and generally, you probably get maybe two looks at it, usually a practice round or a Pro-Am, and then you're off and playing and competing and this is no different," Woods said on Tuesday.

"I think the neat thing about it being in a team format is that we're able to converse with one another, pick each other's brains - how are you going to play this? What kind of shot are you going to play here given different scenarios? Talk about alternate-shot, talk about four-ball.

"That ability in itself allows us that we can learn a golf course a little quicker than we would individually like we do each and every week."

Apart from dealing with jetlag, Woods felt his team had lost little with their late arrival to Melbourne.

The US players landed at 12.30pm on Monday after a 26-hour flight from Woods' tournament in the Bahamas, with the team chartering a luxury jet for the journey.

While the International team opened preparations by playing last week's Australian Open in Sydney or practice rounds at Royal Melbourne, Woods felt his team didn't miss much.

On Monday temperatures in Melbourne hit 37 degrees while on Tuesday it was less than half that at 16 degrees on the course with the wind swinging around.

"Actually, I think we actually got a fortunate break by not coming out here yesterday because the wind has totally switched from the northerlies to out of the south," the 43-year-old said.

"This is the wind we're going to see the rest of the week, so the guys can start prepping exactly what we are going to have to face the rest of the week."

Both teams hit the fairways on Tuesday but Woods said they would be easing into it.

"It's an important day for us to just walk and to stretch our legs a bit. Getting in after a 26-hour ride in a luxurious tin can, it's nice to actually get out there and feel some fresh air."

Dual Australian Open champion Matt Jones has set his sights on representing Australia at the Olympics next year.

On Sunday, Jones won his second national title - both coming at The Australian Golf Club - holding off the challenge of Louis Oosthuizen by one shot.

After becoming just the 19th multiple winner of the Open, the 39-year-old is keen to become an Olympian in Tokyo, having passed on the opportunity to participate in Rio.

"Another goal, which would be a tough one, would be to play the Olympics," he told RSN.

"I had to skip it last time because I was trying to keep my tour card.

"If I had the opportunity again, I'd definitely love to represent Australia and play in the Olympics."

Before then, Jones will aim to add a major championship to his list of achievements, which includes a PGA Tour victory in 2014.

He gets his chance at Royal St George's, having earned a return to the British Open.

"Any time you get a chance to play in a major is pretty special, but especially so when it's the British Open," the Sydneysider said.

"If I had to choose to win one major it would be that one."

Jones revealed that a moment of miscommunication on Sunday almost proved costly as he came to the closing hole at the Australian Open.

He had wrongly been informed that Oosthuizen made par on the 18th, when the South African in fact had made eagle to close to within a stroke of the leader.

"I wasn't too pleased when I found out the situation, because I played the hole differently than I normally would have under different circumstances," Jones said.

"I was under the assumption that it was either a par or worst case a birdie.

"He definitely told me 'Louis is not making eagle', so I thought I had a two-shot lead."