What Every Pairing Shot In The Ryder Cup Morning Foursomes

Ahead of the 45^th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, the outcome was almost too close to call, with both teams able to point to advantages over the other.

One of the big elements working in Team USA’s favor was the backing of a huge and partisan home crowd.

The cheers could probably be heard throughout Bethpage State Park when the opening foursomes pairing of Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas strode out to the first tee less than an hour after sunrise.

Up against Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton, it was Rahm who got proceedings underway, sending his tee shot into the rough to the right of the fairway.

That got the crowd going even more, and when DeChambeau hit a booming tee shot just sort of the putting surface, it had already reached near fever pitch.

For a time, it appeared that it had set the tone for a productive morning for the hosts, as the pair opened up an early lead, but it wasn’t long before the crowd was all but silenced as the Europeans hit back, and in some style.

By the time only one match was left to complete, between home favorites Xander Schauffele and Patrick and Europe’s Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland, Luke Donald’s men had three points on the board in the quest to reach the 14 needed to retain the trophy.

In the end, the final American duo arrested the slide to put some welcome red on the board.

However, as the players and their watching teammates headed off the 18th green to prepare for a quick turnaround before the afternoon four-ball session, the Europeans had a lead they realistically could only have dreamed about at the start of the match.

The wins of 4&3, 5&3 and 5&4, with just the US’s 2 up victory in match four told their own story about Europe’s dominance in the opening session, but how much did each pairing shoot?

The opening match saw two birdies apiece for the pairings on the front nine, but Rahm and Hatton were 1 up at the turn after reversing DeChambeau and Thomas’s lead at the first.

Successive birdies at the 12^th and 13^th gave the European pair a 3 up lead, and even though the US duo made their third birdie at the 14^th, so did their opponents.

At the 15^th, Rahm and Hatton went four up, finishing with a par for their 54^th shot, with the US pair conceding to complete a round of 56.

Much was expected of the Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley pairing after they linked up well at last year’s Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal.

Despite clawing back Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick on the second after they took an early lead, the optimism for the pairing failed to materialize.

While the US duo failed to get firing, credit goes to the Europeans, with Fitzpatrick in particular rolling in putts as though he was playing with his friends, not competing in the cauldron of an away Ryder Cup.

The duo rattled in seven birdies over the 15 holes for a 52 before they finally put the Americans out of their misery, who needed 58 shots.

Anything Aberg and Fitzpatrick could do, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood could do better, setting the tone at the first with a birdie to go 1 up.

Fleetwood Mac was back, and they had an almost unassailable 5 up lead after eight before Morikawa and English clawed some pride back with their first birdie at the ninth to reduce the deficit.

While there were no more fireworks from the European duo on the closing holes, it was a procession as they finished in 50 after the 14^th hole, with their opponents taking five shots more.

That left the tightest of the four matches, and this one went all the way to the 18th, although credit to Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland for pegging the ever-reliable Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay back from a 3 up lead at 11 to all-square after the 15^th.

In the end, it was to no avail as the Americans won the last two holes to complete a 2 up win in 68, with their opponents only managing 71.

Ryder Cup Morning Foursomes - What Every Pairing Shot

Match One (4&3 - Europe)

• -3 (56) Bryson DeChambeau/Justin Thomas
• -5 (54) Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton

Match Two (5&3 - Europe)

• -1 (58) Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley
• -7 (52) Ludvig Aberg/Matt Fitzpatrick

Match Three

• E (55) Collin Morikawa/Harris English
• -5 (50) Rory McIlroy/TommyFleetwood

Match Four

• -3 (68) Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
• -1 (71) Robert MacIntyre/Viktor Hovland