Friday Foursomes pairings: A cracking good start to 43rd Ryder Cup

September 23, 2021

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HAVEN, Wis. – U.S. captain Steve Stricker will send out a couple of his young guns in the first match of Friday morning Foursomes – Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas – as the USA tries to win back the Ryder Cup.

Europe captain Padraig Harrington countered with a Spanish duo of superb power in World No. 1 Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, the all-time points leader in Ryder Cup history.

After waiting three years, that’s a cracking good start to the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits on the shores of Lake Michigan.

The final Foursomes match isn’t too bad, either.

Gold medalist Xander Schauffele and FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay are in the anchor position and will face two of Europe’s Ryder Cup stalwarts – Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter.

The middle matches are appetizing, as well.

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In the second match, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa, both two-time major champions, will face Europe’s Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland, the 2018 U.S. Amateur champion who is a fast rising star on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. The third match will see former Florida State teammates Brooks Koepka, a four-time major champion, and Daniel Berger facing Europe veteran Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick.

“The practice rounds are great but yet you have Friday in the back of your mind, and you are just looking forward to getting out there and getting it going,” Stricker said. “I feel great about our pairings. We are extremely excited about how these guys are playing, and the order of which they are going out.”

Harrington is confident in his pairings, too.

“I’m comfortable with the team I’ve put out there. Strong, experienced team. I had 12 players who could play foursomes, so that was a pretty tough decision to have to rest four. It wasn’t a very easy decision. I think it was pretty clear to me where we were going though.

Europe has won four of the last five matches, seven of the last nine and nine of the last 12. Europe blasted the U.S., 17½-10½, in Paris in 2018.

Sitting for the Americans are Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Scottie Scheffler and Tony Finau. On the bench for Europe are Shane Lowry, Bernd Wiesberger, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton.

Friday afternoon matches will be Four-Balls.

Of the 16 players going out in the morning, five will be making their Ryder Cup debut – Morikawa, Berger, Cantlay and Schauffele for the U.S. and Hovland for Europe.

Spieth and Thomas were 3-1-0 in Paris, one of the team’s few bright spots. Rahm and Garcia haven’t played together, but Rahm has been on a roll since winning the U.S. Open, while Garcia is 22-17-7 in the Ryder Cup with a record 25½ points. He is 18-13-6 in Foursomes and Four-Balls.

“I feel Stricks has instilled a lot of confidence in me and Justin, we weren’t sure where he was going to put us until this afternoon and very excited to go out and try to set the pace for rest of the team,” Spieth said.

Rahm welcomes the pairing with Garcia and relishes going out first.

“It means the captain has faith in me and who I’m partnered with. We are looking to start it the right way. So nothing to be better than to be paired with my friend over here, even though he’s most likely teeing off on 1 and I’m glad he’s doing it,” Rahm said. “It’s a true honor. Spanish legacy is deep in the Ryder Cup and I’m hoping we can start a new tradition.”

USA player Dustin Johnson hits his tee shot on the second hole during practice rounds for the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wisconsin. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson and Morikawa and Casey and Hovland have not played together.

“D.J. and I have gotten along really well over the kind of 2½ years of me being a pro. We have spent a lot of time together and so it’s a very comfortable pairing and that helps especially in alternate-shot format,” Morikawa said.

Said Johnson: “We complement each other very well and I think we’ll be a strong team. We just have to go out and play our game and play some good golf if we want to win. We’re going to have a tough match.”

Casey has no reservations playing with a Ryder Cup rookie.

“This is like the night before Christmas. I mean, the Ryder Cup is so special, to be playing the first session, as well is a great honor. Captain Harrington obviously has faith in my abilities, but also to be playing with Viktor, it shows everybody how good this guy is,” he said. “Rookies tend not to play sort of first sessions, especially something like Foursomes. But I cannot wait to get started with this guy standing next to me.”

Koepka and Berger lost their match when paired together in the 2017 Presidents Cup, but both say they are a perfect fit as partners.

“I’m a little bit more methodical and he’s a little bit more bomb-and-gauge, but I think we play well off each other,” Berger said. “In alternate-shot, it’s really about how you mesh with your partner. Together we’re a good team.”

Koepka agreed.

“I love playing with him. I think it will be fun,” he said. “Hopefully go out and do what we are supposed to do.”

Team USA player Patrick Cantlay is introduced during the opening ceremony for the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wisconsin. Photo by Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

In the anchor match, Schauffele and Cantlay were 2-2-0 as partners in the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia. McIlroy and Poulter have played in a combined 11 matches, with McIlroy 11-9-4 and Poulter 14-6-2. The two were 1-1-0 as a team in Paris and won the memorable Saturday afternoon Four-Ball match in 2012 to help turn the tide for Europe in their huge comeback victory.

“It will be fantastic,” Cantlay said. “The Wisconsin fans will be showing up and cheering us on all day. They have been great so far this week, and those have just been practice rounds. I’m looking forward to getting after it tomorrow.”

Schauffele said he relishes playing two of Europe’s best.

“You always want to play against the best,” he said. “Best way to challenge your game. Pat and I are looking forward to putting a point on the board and going from there.”

McIlroy and Poulter said they love taking their Ryder Cup experience to the first tee.

“It’s almost been a decade that Poults and I have been playing in this thing, all the way back to 2012. We’ve put points on the board for Europe, which is really important, but we’ve also had a lot of fun doing it,” McIlroy said. “So we are going to go out there this week and enjoy ourselves and play our absolute hearts out and try to put points on the board for our team.”

Team Europe player Ian Poulter is introduced during the opening ceremony for the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wisconsin. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

“We have played some great golf together through the years and this is going to be another special match,” Poulter said. “To be here, great course, it’s going to be windy. It’s going to be a good test, and as you said, it’s about putting points on the board. We have done that a lot for Team Europe and we’re going to do it again.”