Members of Team USA during the Opening Ceremony for the 2023 Ryder Cup | Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Ryder Cup captains Zach Johnson and Luke Donald unveiled the matchups for the first Foursome session at the opening ceremony.
At Thursday’s opening ceremony, U.S. Captain Zach Johnson and European Captain Luke Donald unveiled the matchups for the first session of the Ryder Cup.
Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns will get things started in Match One against Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton.
In Match Two, Max Homa and Brian Harman, two Ryder Cup rookies, will face the young Scandinavian superstars Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg.
Then, in Match Three, Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa will square off against Irishman Shane Lowry and Austrian Sepp Straka.
And finally, in perhaps the most anticipated match of the morning session, the formidable duo of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay will take on Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, who both have had spectacular seasons.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy react to playing with one another in the fourth match on Friday.
“We have a pretty easy [nickname],” Fleetwood said to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis after the opening ceremony.
“Fleetwood Mac!” McIlroy chimed in, standing alongside Fleetwood as both were interviewed on live television.
Rumors earlier this week indicated that Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth would play in the opening session. But they will sit out to start. Also absent in the morning Foursomes are Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark.
Friday’s alternate-shot matches begin at 7:35 a.m. local time in Rome, which is 1:35 a.m. ET.
Whether American fans wake up that early to watch remains to be seen, but plenty of Team USA supporters weighed in on these matchups:
Fleetwood Mac as a pairing is something I’m really looking forward to seeing tomorrow, surprised both Thomas and Spieth are missing out from Team USA #RyderCup
— Callum Owen (@callumowen98) September 28, 2023
USA will be lucky to get 1. I don’t understand on why JT/SPIETH are sitting. Koepka too. Those 3 are their 3 of their better players. Europe will set the tone and you will look back on the first session and see why they won
— Adam (@pittsburghfan25) September 28, 2023
What do you think of the matchups that will kick off the 2023 Ryder Cup? Did the Americans draw favorable matchups? Or do the Europeans get a better hand? Let us know in the comments below.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
