The Day 1 pairings and tee timings are officially (and finally) released, around 12 hours before play begins in the 2023 Ryder Cup. Most noteworthy is that Luke Donald chose some heavyweight combinations for the European team while Zach Johnson varied things up a bit for the American team.
The absence of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas from the opening foursomes session, which gets underway at 1:35 a.m. ET on Friday, is a surprise. As their teammates try to earn some points at the start of the 44th Ryder Cup, the U.S. superteam from previous Ryder Cups will take an early seat.
On the European side, practically all of the major players are participating; in the first session, Europe is going all out against the Americans. The session will begin with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton and end with Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood. Between those two groups, we also manage to acquire the nightmare coupling of Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, which is very unsettling.
The foursomes pairings for Friday morning’s first session are shown below. Watch this space for further observations from each game.
2023 Ryder Cup schedule
Day 1 — Foursomes
| TIME | UNITED STATES | EUROPE |
| Match 1 (1:35 a.m.) | Scottie Scheffler & Sam Burns | Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton |
| Match 2 (1:50 a.m.) | Max Homa & Brian Harman | Viktor Hovland & Ludvig Aberg |
| Match 3 (2:05 a.m.) | Rickie Fowler & Collin Morikawa | Sepp Straka & Shane Lowry |
| Match 4 (2:20 a.m.) | Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele | Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood |
Match 1: Scheffler & Burns vs. Rahm & Hatton, It was anticipated that these Americans would team up since they did so frequently at the Presidents Cup the previous year, largely badly, including a 0-2 foursomes record. However, Scheffler is currently ranked as the best player in the world, and he aims to begin this Ryder Cup by defeating Rahm. Watchers will enjoy the volatile Rahm and much more volatile Hatton together, but it has happened before. Together, they split a four-ball game on Friday afternoon at Whistling Straits. Rahm is an excellent Scheffler counterpoint and the person you want to be setting the pace on Friday morning when Marco Simone starts to rock.
Forecast: Europe
Match 2:The American pairing in the second round, Homa & Harman vs. Hovland & Aberg, is not stunning, but it is a little unexpected. But it might work. Both players are remarkably steady from the tee to the green, and Harman’s short game is fantastic. It’s not hard to imagine them putting together a round without a bogey, but the real issue is whether that will be sufficient to defeat the nuclear European combo. Out of the foursomes, the two Scandinavians are the most intriguing and entertaining duo. They are two of the top four drivers in the world over the past six months, which is important for Marco Simone and is hard to overstate. I find that this clash is the most fascinating on Day 1 because practically anything might happen could occur.
Prediction: Unexpectedly, the United States
Match 3: Straka & Lowry versus Fowler & Morikawa: For each side, these pairings are a surprise. Both Fowler and Morikawa are excellent iron players who don’t gain many strokes off the tee, which gives them quite comparable games. Despite the fact that they participated in practise rounds together on Tuesday and Thursday, for some reason I did not anticipate this pairing. Due to who they are up against, they also serve as the lone favourite on the American side. Most people thought that Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose would be playing in a foursome, and that made sense on paper. But it was also anticipated that Straka would play foursomes, and Lowry seems to be a natural fit in these situations. I’m unsure of what to anticipate. Boom or bust for Straka but at ease with the format. Although his play has improved recently, Lowry has been marginally down this season. This will be his first foray into this format because he only played four-ball at Whistling Straits. However, both men are proficient iron players, and this quartet may be the finest iron players on the entire course.
Prediction: United States (close)
Match 4 – McIlroy & Fleetwood vs. Cantlay & Schauffele: It should come as no surprise that Cantlay & Schauffele will complete the American team. They were guaranteed a spot in this opening round after winning both of their foursomes at Whistling Straits. Their tale has a high floor but a (relatively) low ceiling, which is ideal for foursomes where you require consecutive pars with a few birdies. The duo of McIlroy and Fleetwood is intriguing. After Fleetwood and Hovland failed to work together and Ian Poulter (Rory’s former partner) was left off of this Ryder Cup team, both were sort of searching for new partners. The combination can be terrifying. Off the tee, McIlroy is undoubtedly great, but Fleetwood has largely regained his form there as well. Each is really Given how many birdies they could score as a pair, these two are strong iron players and will probably play four-balls together.
Prediction: Europe
The major surprise: You might cite Spieth and Thomas’ 2-2 foursomes record against their 2-0 four-ball record in Ryder Cups as a possible justification for their absence. However, it was astonishing that those two names were not announced earlier for the American side.
Well, the main thing is that we have 12 players, according to U.S. captain Zach Johnson. I’m sorry, but I can’t play all 12 every session. Someone must therefore sit at some time. This golf course puts a lot of physical strain on you.
“It’s a perfect scenario where you don’t have to play everyone for the entire five sessions. I’m not saying that’s what we’ll do, but you’re considering everything. Furthermore, we believe that the eight players I have listed on paper are the ones who will best enable us to get off to a strong start.
Since the numbers most likely forced this combination into four-balls in the afternoon, this was most likely a data-driven decision. Given how much we have all grumbled about the lack of forethought and planning during the past few Ryder Cups for the United States in Europe, it is encouraging to see some actual foresight and planning taking place. Certainly shocking, but the Americans are making an effort not the session, but the week. It’s important to keep that in mind before the Ryder Cup begins on Friday morning.
The 2023 Ryder Cup is dissected by Patrick McDonald, Kyle Porter, and Greg Ducharme. Before the confrontation at the Marco Simone Golf Club, there are plotlines and best wagers. The First Cut is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.