ROME – The wait is almost over.
On Wednesday, at the end of the opening ceremonies of the 44th Ryder Cup, European Captain Luke Donald and U.S. Captain Zach Johnson announced their teams for tomorrow’s opening foursomes session at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
To no surprise, the American side is running out some tried and true teams, including Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, but Johnson elected to sit the duo of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
“I think it’s an ideal situation where you don’t necessarily want to play everybody all five sessions. I’m not saying that’s what we’re going to do, but you’re taking everything into account,” Johnson said. “Not only that, but the eight guys I have down on paper are the ones that we feel best put us in the position to get off to a great start.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will pair with his best buddy Sam Burns, who is a Ryder Cup rookie, in the opening match.
“You’ve got some experience in there, and you’ve got some chemistry in there as well,” Johnson said. “Those guys want to get after it, and I’m confident that they can do that.”
The following Americans are sitting during the opening session: Brooks Koepka, Wyndham Clark, Spieth and Thomas.
The European side, which contains players from eight different countries, is led by the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and emerging star Viktor Hovland. Rahm will try to set the tone in the first match with partner Tyrrell Hatton.
“They’re both world-class players, to start, both fantastic ball strikers. They are very passionate,” Donald said. “I think Jon feeds off a playing partner with similar kind of fire and passion. He wants to feel like he’s out there with a teammate that’s really engaged with him. Tyrrell really fits that bill.”
McIlroy will be the bookend, teaming with Englishman Tommy Fleetwood in the anchor match.
In between, Donald is sending out Hovland, who won the FedEx Cup last month, with Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, the 23-year-old who was playing college golf not long ago.
“Ludvig’s driving, the few tournaments he played on the PGA Tour, he was the No. 1 driver in all of golf, ahead of Rory McIlroy, ahead of Scottie Scheffler in the rankings,” Donald said. “We know driving is important this week and in foursomes, if you’re in the short stuff, it’s going to make life a lot easier.”
Irishman Shane Lowry will partner with Austrian-born Sepp Straka.
The following Europeans are sitting during the opening session: Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Robert McIntyre, Nicolai Hjogaard.
The U.S. won the Cup in 2021 at Whistling Straits by a score of 19-9, and needs 14 points to retain the Cup. Here are the first four matches scheduled for Friday morning.
1:35 a.m. ET: Scottie Scheffler-Sam Burns (USA) vs Jon Rahm-Tyrrell Hatton (Europe)
Burns: “Scottie and I have played a lot of golf together, and we’re excited to team up and try to go out there and get the first point for our team.”
1:50 a.m. ET: Brian Harman-Max Homa (USA) vs Viktor Hovland-Ludvig Aberg (Europe)
Harman: “I’m humbled and honored to have Max as a partner, and they’ll get our best shot.”
2:05 a.m. ET: Rickie Fowler-Collin Morikawa (USA) vs Shane Lowry-Sepp Straka (Europe)
Fowler: “Alternate shot is kind of my favorite of the formats just because I feel that it really demands play out of both of the guys. Playing alongside Collin, we’re going to have a good time. It will bring out the best in us. It’s fun to be part of the morning kind of first wave and see if we can get things rolling.”
2:20 a.m. ET: Patrick Cantlay-Xander Schauffele (USA) vs Rory McIlroy-Tommy Fleetwood (Europe)
Schauffele: “Business as usual. They’re both great players. Pat and I know them very well. It will be a battle, no doubt.”
