Ryder Cup Friday Foursomes: Breakdown Of Opening Pairings at Bethpage Black

It's almost time for the start of the Ryder Cup and I couldn't be more excited. The international golf competition is one of the best events on the sports calendar, and it officially begins on Friday morning at 7:10 a.m. ET at Bethpage Black in New York. 

On Thursday, European captain Luke Donald and United States captain Keegan Bradley announced their pairings for the first session, which will consist of four foursomes. For those unfamiliar, that means the players will compete in the alternate-shot format. 

Friday's afternoon session, for which pairings will be announced after the morning session, will be the four-ball format, where every player plays his own ball and the team takes the better score between the two players. 

Here are the matchups for Friday morning. 

Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton vs. Bryson DeChambeau/Justin Thomas 

Talk about starting the Ryder Cup off with a bang! Rahm is one of the best golfers on the planet and Tyrell Hatton is a strong match play competitor. It's not going to be easy for the Americans to get off to a good start, but if anyone can strike fear in his opponent, it's DeChambeau. 

Officials have discussed how the course will not play as difficult as it has when it hosted U.S. Opens, largely because of the massive amount of stands necessary to hold all the patrons (thus shortening some of the holes) and the rough being cut shorter than usual. 

That means DeChambeau should be able to take advantage of his long distance off the tee. However, Jon Rahm isn't exactly short off the tee, so that should be a fun match. 

Ludvig Åberg/Matt Fitzpatrick vs. Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley 

If there's one match where the Americans have a massive advantage on Friday morning, it's this one. Of course, any match where Scottie Scheffler is competing, his team is going to be favored. 

But I love this pairing by the United States. Henley isn't that well-known among American golf fans, but he's in the midst of the best stretch of his career. While he struggled at the Masters and PGA Championship (cut in both), the 36-year-old posted top-10 finishes at both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship before finishing tied for second at the Tour Championship. 

Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley talk on the first hole during a practice round of the Ryder Cup golf tournament at Bethpage Black. 

(Dennis Schneidler/Imagn Images)

Henley isn't long off the tee, but he's a fantastic iron and wedge player, and he can putt the lights out. That makes him an ideal partner for Scheffler, who should consistently put Henley in position to score for the Americans. 

Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood vs. Collin Morikawa/Harris English 

While the Americans have the advantage in the second match, the Europeans have the clear edge in this one. Rory McIlroy is world's No. 2 golfer (behind Scheffler) and Fleetwood finally got the monkey off his back when he won the Tour Championship. 

It had been a year of close calls for Fleetwood, who had never won a PGA Tour event in his career prior to this season. But he finished in the top five in four of his last six tournaments and comes into the Ryder Cup in incredible form. 

Don't count out the U.S., though. Morikawa is 2-1-0 in his Ryder Cup career in foursomes matches, and he typically plays his best when the pressure is on. English finished 12th at the Masters, tied for second at the PGA Championship and solo second at the Open Championship. 

Robert MacIntyre/Viktor Hovland vs. Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay 

Captain Keegan Bradley opted to go with a familiar pairing for his final selection of the first session. The two are 2-2-0 when playing together at the Ryder Cup and 4-1-0 at the Presidents Cup (including 3-0-0 in foursomes). Schauffele has battled injuries this season, but says he's ready to go at Bethpage Black. Cantlay tied for second at the Tour Championship, so he brings good form into the tournament. 

On the European side, there's not much to say. Hovland had a rough year and struggled with his swing for much of it, but finished third at the U.S. Open and closed the season strong during the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Robert MacIntyre finished second at the U.S. Open and seventh at the Open Championship. He also finished second at the BMW Championship. 

Final Thoughts 

None. I am so ready for this thing to start. USA! USA!