Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood completed Europe’s first-ever clean sweep in the opening morning of a Ryder Cup thanks to a 2&1 victory over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
The American pair had never lost in foursomes before Friday’s humbling loss - scoring five wins across previous Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup appearances.
But as soon as the Northern Irishman poured in a birdie on the fourth at Marco Simone, ‘Fleetwood Mac’ continued to maintain an arm’s-length advantage over their red rivals.
The final pair’s success backed up a dominant 4&3 win for Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton over Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in the top match, while Viktor Hovland - alongside Ludvig Aberg - ensured another European point by besting Max Homa and Brian Harman by the same scoreline in the second.
Shane Lowry and Sepp Staka made it 3-0 to the team in blue courtesy of a comfortable 2&1 triumph against Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler in the penultimate clash.
Discussing the sheer dominance of Team Europe during the opening hours of the 2023 Ryder Cup, McIlroy said: “It's been an unbelievable session.
“We switched the format this year to go foursomes first because statistically that's our better session. And all week, all we've been talking about is getting off to fast starts. Playing three-hole matches in practice, three holes, go again, three holes, go again, something that Luke's drilled into us.
“We were ready to go from the first tee shot, as you can see in how everyone played. I'm so proud of this man alongside me. He can play with anyone. I'm just so happy that he's my partner this week and so happy to get a point on the board for Europe.”
In the anchor group for Team Europe, Fleetwood was growing frustrated with his lack of putting success until he rolled home a monster effort on 15 to put he and McIlroy in the driving seat once more with just three holes to go.
The Englishman shared his relief at what he described as “one of those Ryder Cup moments” when sinking his ball from range as holes began to run out.
Fleetwood said: “I’d been waiting for a moment like that all today, to be honest. Especially the start of the back nine where we were playing so well, I felt like I had two or three chances that I let go by. So I kept them in it, really. You're not going to hole them all, unless you have a really good day.
“I was due one. Felt really good over it. It's just one of those Ryder Cup moments, really, and that's what we're playing for. It's really cool.”
2023 Ryder Cup Scores
Day One Foursomes: Europe 4 USA 0
- Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton defeated Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 4&3
- Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg defeated Max Homa and Brian Harman 4&3
- Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry defeated Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler 2&1
- Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood defeated Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 2&1
Day One Fourballs: Europe 2.5 USA 1.5
- Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton TIED with Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth
- Jon Rahm and Nicolai Hojgaard TIED with Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler
- Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre TIED with Max Homa and Wyndham Clark
- Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick defeated Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele 5&3
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