ROME – Team Europe came out swinging on Friday morning, sweeping all four foursomes matches in the first session of the 44th Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. It marked the first time the Euros have grabbed a 4-0 lead in Ryder Cup history.
The leaderboard was bathed in blue early as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton secured the first point in convincing fashion over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.
It was a dream start for Luke Donald’s Euro team, who opted to open with foursomes for the first time since 1993 with the goal of getting off to a fast start. The Euros did that and then some. Team Europe hadn’t won 3½ points or more in the opening sessions since 1969, and none of the matches were even close. None of the matches made it to the 18th hole.
What a start. Great decision by Luke to start with foursomes and go all out for momentum. @RyderCupEurope
— Padraig Harrington (@padraig_h) September 29, 2023
“We can’t get complacent at all,” McIlroy said. “This is an unbelievably long American Team. Last week the American girls went up 4-0 in the first session there (at the Solheim Cup) and Europe were able to come back, so we are not taking anything for granted here. It’s a great start but we need to keep our foot on the pedal and keep winning points.”
Here’s a match-by-match summary.
Match 1: Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton def. Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns, 4 and 3
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton put the first point on the board for Team Europe with a relatively easy 4-and-3 victory over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.
“We played as confident as two people can play,” Rahm said, “and it was a beautiful one.”
Rahm and Hatton made four birdies and an eagle in the first 12 holes and were bogey-free for the 15 holes they played in the foursomes format. The U.S. side, in contrast, managed just one birdie.
Scheffler and Burns are good friends, who paired together last year at the Presidents Cup, but they lacked chemistry on Friday morning and are now 0-3-1 as a team between two Cups.
“I don’t care if they’re friends, they need to split them up,” former Ryder Cupper Hunter Mahan said on the Sky Sports broadcast.
Rahm gave the Euros an early lead with a chip-in birdie at the third hole and later chipped in again at the 10th hole for par, which tied the hole and thwarted any momentum for the U.S. side. The Euros won the 11th too, and made a 13-foot eagle at the par-5 12th to pull ahead 4 up and secure the first point.
“Any time we needed the right shot to change the momentum, we did,” Rahm said. “You know, that’s the key in match play, right, just keep hitting the right shots at the right time.”
Match 2: Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Aberg def. Max Homa/Brian Harman, 4 and 3
Viktor Hovland played like a man on fire early. He chipped in for birdie to win the first hole, holed a clutch par putt to win the second and allowed his partner, youngster Ludvig Aberg, to settle down from some early rookie nerves.
Hovland had one of the biggest fist pumps you’ll ever see at 8 a.m. local on the first hole and it set the tone for the match. Playing in his first home Ryder Cup, Hovland said he fed off the crowd.
“It was such a big difference compared to Whistling Straits (in 2021),” he said. “Normally I keep my head down and just play, but I’m trying to really get the crowds going and just use them because they want you to play well and they want to support you. So it was such a good start, and we’re going to keep it going.”
The U.S. scratched back to win the the third and fourth holes and tie things early but the Euros responded by winning Nos. 5, 6 and 9 to open a 3-up lead.
American Brian Harman had a good chance at 10 to cut into the deficit but missed his birdie effort. That was the story of the match as the U.S. side made just two birdies and were closed out after Hovland splashed close to the hole at 15 to seal the deal. Euros lead 2-0.
“Just got outplayed,” Harman said. “They out-executed us.”
Match 3: Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka def. Rickie Fowler/Collin Morikawa, 2 and 1
Irishman Shane Lowry and Austrian Sepp Straka made four birdies and took advantage of the struggles of the American duo of Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa. The U.S. shot a front-nine 38 in the foursomes format, which included four bogeys and failing to birdie the par 5s left the U.S. in a hole.
Lowry and Straka grabbed the lead with birdies at Nos. 3 and 4 and never looked back. The Americans won the fifth but then lost three straight holes beginning at No. 7 to fall 4 down. Two birdies for the U.S. side cut the deficit in half and gave them hope of a comeback but they made a bogey at 14 to stall the momentum. The U.S. won 16 with a conceded birdie but one hole later, hats were lifted as the Euros added another point on the board.
Europe now 3 up. This is the first time one side has won the first three matches in a Ryder Cup – with none reaching the 18th hole – since the United States did it in 1979.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) September 29, 2023
Match 4: Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood def. Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele, 2 and 1
Fleetwood Mac isn’t just an award-winning 1980’s band. It is now a point-winning Ryder Cup team.
Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy grabbed a 2-up lead with birdies at Nos. 2 and 8 and held off efforts by Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele to mount a comeback. The final outcome was a 2-and-1 win to complete the historic morning sweep.
Fleetwood got things rolling at the fourth hole by sticking his tee shot at the par 3 to 7 feet and McIlroy converted. Cantlay found the water with his second at the eight hole, which led to a double bogey. The Americans won the next hole with a par, but never could get back to all square. They had their best chance at 15, but Cantlay rolled his 25-foot birdie putt 6 feet past the hole. Then Fleetwood holed a long par putt and Schauffele missed.
“Waiting for a moment like that all today to be honest,” Fleetwood said. “Was due one. Felt really good over it. It’s just one of those Ryder Cup moments, really, and that’s what we’re playing for. It’s really cool.”
McIlroy sealed the deal by stuffing his tee shot at the par-3 17th to clinch the win and take down the previously invincible pairing of Cantlay-Schauffele, who were 5-0 in foursomes as a team.
“I have hit a lot of good shots in my time,” McIlroy said. “That’s right up there.”
Europe lead 4-0.
RORY MCILROY, TAKE A BOW! 🎯#TeamEurope | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/4jqRsdtYbO
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 29, 2023
