The 2023 Ryder Cup is nearing its start, and just about 12 hours before play begins, the Day 1 pairings and tee times are officially (and finally) out. Most notable is that Zach Johnson mixed it up a bit for the United States team, while Luke Donald went with some heavyweight pairings on the European side.
The surprise of the opening foursomes session — which starts at 1:35 a.m. ET on Friday — is that the long-time pairing of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas will not be playing. The U.S. superteam of past Ryder Cups will sit early as their teammates attempt to secure some points at the onset of the 44th Ryder Cup.
On the European side, almost everyone notable is playing; Europe is throwing everything it has at the Americans in the opening session. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will lead things off with Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood closing out the session. And somehow, in between those two groups, we also get a dream pairing of Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg pairing that is legitimately frightening.
Here’s a look at the foursomes matchups for the first session on Friday morning. Check out a full 2023 Ryder Cup TV schedule and viewer’s guide so you can follow all week long, and be sure to follow 2023 Ryder Cup live scores and results throughout Day 1 on Friday.
All times Eastern
2023 Ryder Cup schedule
Day 1
Session 1 (foursomes): 1:35 a.m.
Session 2 (fourball): 6:25 a.m.
Live TV coverage: 1:30 a.m. to noon on USA Network
Live stream online: 1:30 a.m. to noon on fubo (Try for free) and RyderCup.com
Foursomes
|
Match 1 (1:35 a.m.) |
Scottie Scheffler & Sam Burns |
Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton |
|
Match 2 (1:50 a.m.) |
Max Homa & Brian Harman |
Viktor Hovland & Ludvig Aberg |
|
Match 3 (2:05 a.m.) |
Rickie Fowler & Collin Morikawa |
Sepp Straka & Shane Lowry |
|
Match 4 (2:20 a.m.) |
Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele |
Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood |
Match 1 — Scheffler & Burns vs. Rahm & Hatton: It was expected that these Americans would play together given they did so plenty at last year’s Presidents Cup, though mostly unsuccessfully, including an 0-2 foursomes record. Still, Scheffler is the No. 1 player in the world and ended the last Ryder Cup the same way he hopes to start this one: by defeating Rahm. Pairing the volatile Rahm and even more volatile Hatton together is a delight for those watching but also not without precedent. That duo played together at Whistling Straits, halving a four-ball match on Friday afternoon. Rahm is a great foil for Scheffler and the guy you want leading the way on Friday morning as Marco Simone starts rocking. Prediction: Europe
Match 2 — Homa & Harman vs. Hovland & Aberg: The American pairing is not shocking but a bit surprising. Still, it could work. Harman’s short game is magic, and both players are incredibly steady from tee to green. It’s not difficult to see them throwing together a bogey-free round, but the question is whether that will be enough against the nuclear European duo. The two Scandinavians are the most interesting and fun pair to come out of the foursomes. It would be difficult to overstate how good they are off the tee — two of the four best drivers in the world over the last six months — which will be useful at Marco Simone. This matchup is, to me, the most intriguing on Day 1 because almost anything could happen. Prediction: United States (upset)
Match 3 — Fowler & Morikawa vs. Straka & Lowry: These are surprise pairings for each side. Fowler & Morikawa have fairly similar games in that they’re both tremendous iron players who don’t gain a lot of strokes off the tee. For some reason, I did not see this duo coming, even though they played together on both Tuesday and Thursday in practice rounds. However, they also represent the only favorite on the U.S. side because of who they’re up against. Most believed that Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick were set for a foursomes pairing, and that made sense on paper. However, it was also believed that Straka would play foursomes, and Lowry is apparently a natural fit. I’m not sure what to expect. Straka is boom or bust but comfortable in the format. Lowry has been down slightly this year but playing better of late. He only played four-ball at Whistling Straits, so this will be his first leap into this format. Both guys are flushers with their irons, though, and this is perhaps the best foursome of iron players on the entire board. Prediction: United States (close)
Match 4 — Cantlay & Schauffele vs. McIlroy & Fleetwood: To no one’s surprise, Cantlay & Schauffele will round things out for the Americans. They won both their foursomes at Whistling Straits and were an absolute lock to play this first session. Their story is high floor but (relatively) low ceiling, which could not be more perfect for foursomes where you need par after par after par with some birdies sprinkled in. McIlroy & Fleetwood is a fascinating pair. Both were sort of looking around for new partners after Fleetwood didn’t work with Hovland and Ian Poulter (Rory’s old partner) didn’t make this Ryder Cup team. The combination could be monstrous. McIlroy is obviously elite off the tee, but Fleetwood has mostly returned to his form there as well. Both are very solid iron players and will likely play four-balls together given the amount of birdies they could make as a duo. Prediction: Europe
The big surprise: As for why Spieth and Thomas are sitting out, you could point to their 2-2 foursomes record against their 2-0 four-ball record in Ryder Cups as the possible reason. Still, it was stunning not to see those two names out early for the American side.
“Well, the gist of it is we’ve got 12 guys,” said U.S. captain Zach Johnson. “Unfortunately, I can’t play all 12 each session. So, at some point, somebody’s got to sit. It’s a golf course that demands a lot out of you physically.
“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. 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 obviously.”
This was likely a data-heavy decision as the numbers probably pushed this pairing into four-balls in the afternoon. This makes sense, and it’s good to see some actual foresight and planning going on given how much we have all complained about the lack thereof over the past few Ryder Cups for the U.S. in Europe. It’s surprising, absolutely, but the Americans are trying to win the week, not the session. That matters, and it’s something keep in mind as the Ryder Cup gets underway on Friday morning.
Kyle Porter, Greg Ducharme and Patrick McDonald break down the 2023 Ryder Cup. It’s storylines and best bets ahead of the showdown at Marco Simone Golf Club. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.