After months of build and weeks of chatter, the 2025 Ryder Cup is finally set to begin at Bethpage Black. The United States and Europe will begin this year’s competition Friday morning with foursomes (alternate shot), and the four matchups for the opening session were officially set Thursday afternoon by respective captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald.
The home team has dominated Friday foursomes in recent years — no matter where the Ryder Cup has been played — with Europe winning the session 4-0 in 2018 and 2023, while the United States won 4-0 in 2018 and 3-1 in 2021. The Americans will be focused on continuing that trend, and there was immense pressure is on Bradley to put together the best possible pairings to get his side off to a strong start despite not having a bunch of experienced partnerships on which to lean.
Across the aisle, Donald has an advantage bringing back almost the exact same team that won in Rome, and it was expected that he would lean on established pairs that have thrived in the alternate shot format before. Europe is trying to become the first team to capture a road Ryder Cup since they did so in 2012 at Medinah, and they hope continuity will be the difference maker in a hostile environment like New York.
Check out a full breakdown of the 2025 Ryder Cup schedule and playing format along with CBS Sports’ ranking of all 24 players on the Ryder Cup rosters ahead of competition Friday.
2025 Ryder Cup matchups: Day 1 (Friday)
Session 1 — Foursomes
|
1 |
Bryson DeChambeau & Justin Thomas |
7:10 a.m. |
Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton |
|
2 |
Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley |
7:26 a.m. |
Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick |
|
3 |
Collin Morikawa & Harris English |
7:42 a.m. |
Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood |
|
4 |
Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay |
7:58 a.m. |
Robert MacIntyre & Viktor Hovland |
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Neither captain wasted any time getting their top guys out, as the opening match is going to be a heavyweight bout for the ages. Donald called on one of his best pairings from Rome — Rahm & Hatton went 2-0 in foursomes — while Bradley looks to get two of his most popular players out first. DeChambeau will, undoubtedly, hit that opening tee shot in front of a rowdy crowd looking to whip the New York crowd into a frenzy out of the gate.
“Besides the fact that they’re both phenomenal players, they both bring a spark to the team,” Bradley said. “Bryson has been an incredible teammate in the locker room. We really want him to lead our team out with Justin on the first match.”
The second match will feature world Scheffler, the world No. 1, with Henley in a pairing most have anticipated for weeks. They’ll face Åberg & Fitzpatrick, a new pairing for Europe. Åberg thrived with Hovland in foursomes two years ago but will instead play with Fitzpatrick (who struggled in Rome) this go around — a somewhat surprising gamble from Donald.
“I think it’s two years ago, Rome,” Donald said of making some changes. “Players evolve, players change and their profile[s] change. You’re looking at personality matchup; we have so many options that it’s really quite fun for me as a captain. We know the U.S. is gonna be strong. They’re strong at foursomes. They have some amazing partnerships there, and we wanted to bring out best as well. And this is what we feel is our best.”
Donald, seemingly anticipating the Scheffler pairing being sent out second, held his second-strongest pairing for the third match, sending McIlroy & Fleetwood out against Morikawa & English. That European duo went 2-0 in foursomes two years ago, and they will be heavy favorites against what is likely the shakiest (on paper) pairing for the Americans.
The final match will feature the only U.S. duo that has extensive experience together, as Schauffele & Cantlay have paired in each of the last two Ryder Cups to great success. They’ll face Hovland & MacIntyre in another new pairing from Donald, who is adjusting his strategy and pairings to a new course setup at Bethpage Black.