Team Europe have made an incredible start to the Ryder Cup, earning a first morning whitewash over the USA in Friday’s opening foursomes.
The action began bright and early in front of a partisan crowd at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, with captain Luke Donald selecting the feisty pairing of reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm and England’s Tyrrell Hatton to kick off Team Europe’s bid for glory after their record humbling at Whistling Straits two years ago.
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They took on world No1 Scottie Scheffler and five-time PGA Tour winner Sam Burns, with the USA hoping to get off to a strong start of their own as they jostle for a first Ryder Cup triumph on European soil since 1993 at The Belfry.
However, Scheffler and Burns proved no match for their European counterparts, with the latter struggling badly on his Ryder Cup debut in a 4&3 loss.
In match two, Donald paired the in-form FedExCup and TOUR Championship winner Viktor Hovland with talented rookie Ludvig Aberg, hailed as a “generational talent” by his captain.
They went up against Brian Harman, dominant Open winner at Royal Liverpool back in July, and six-time tour winner Max Homa, also winning 4&3.
Match three saw 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry team up with Austrian debutant Josef “Sepp” Straka, who finished closest to Harman at this year’s Open. They faced a tough test against Ryder Cup stalwart Rickie Fowler and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, but came out on top 2&1.
Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood was the final high-profile Europe foursome pairing picked for Friday morning’s action, beating Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 2&1 to make it 4-0 to the hosts on a perfect morning.
The Friday foursomes are followed by four afternoon fourball matches, with the players for those showdowns now confirmed.
Hovland and Hatton are partnered to take on the established duo of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, who enter the 2023 competition for the first time desperately looking to claw back some points for the Americans.
Nicolai Hojgaard comes in to partner Rahm against the pairing of Scheffler and LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka, with Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose teaming up to battle Homa and US Open winner Wyndham Clark.
McIlroy is back out in match four along with Matt Fitzpatrick, taking on the US pairing of Morikawa and Schauffele.
Ryder Cup 2023 Friday foursomes tee times and pairings
all times BST unless stated
Match 1, 6:35am: Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns vs Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton - Europe win 4&3
Match 2, 6:50am: Max Homa/Brian Harman vs Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Aberg - Europe win 4&3
Match 3, 7:05am: Rickie Fowler/Collin Morikawa vs Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka - Europe win 2&1
Match 4, 7:20am: Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay vs Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood - Europe win 2&1
Ryder Cup 2023 Friday fourballs tee times and pairings
Match 1, 11:25am: Viktor Hovland/Tyrrell Hatton vs Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth
Match 2, 11:40am: Jon Rahm/Nicolai Hojgaard vs Scottie Scheffler/Brooks Koepka
Match 3, 11:55am: Robert MacIntyre/Justin Rose vs Max Homa/Wyndham Clark
Match 4, 12:10pm: Rory McIlroy/Matthew Fitzpatrick vs Collin Morikawa/Xander Schauffele
