‘An incredible journey’ – Marco Simone Golf Club hosts Ryder Cup for first time
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will lead Europe out against United States pair Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in the opening foursomes at the Ryder Cup.
At a rowdy opening ceremony at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Europe captain Luke Donald and his USA counterpart Zach Johnson revealed their opening pairings for Friday morning’s action.
Johnson surprisingly benched Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, while he elected to send out a pair of rookies in Max Homa and Brian Harman in the second contest.
Harman, the winner of the Open, and Homa will face off against Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg – the latter a rookie sent out by Donald.
Donald elected to leave major winners Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick on the sidelines for the morning session, as he paired Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka in match three against Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa.
The final match is a mouthwatering affair, as Johnson opted for Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay to take on Europe big guns Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.
Fleetwood joined Francesco Molinari in a famous ‘Mollywood’ pairing when Europe won at Le Golf National in 2018, and he and McIlroy have already picked up the ‘Fleetwood Mac’ moniker.
“How Tommy played in France and in his last home Ryder Cup and the partnership he had I just hope I can live up to Francesco, is really all I’m trying to do here,” McIlroy said. “So if I can live up to Francesco, I think we’ll be okay.”
The action gets underway with the opening tee shot at 7:35 local time in Rome, and Donald is relishing the challenge.
“We’re coming off a very difficult defeat two years ago and the US are definitely confident and we’re going to have to play some good golf,” Donald said. “But I’m excited to see it get started.”
While eyebrows were raised at Johnson leaving out Spieth, Thomas and Brooks Koepka, the American was happy with his pairings as he bids to defend the title won at Whistling Straits two years ago.
“We’re so confident in what we have,” Johnson said. “Let’s arrange it in a manner in which we feel is most comfortable for these guys and for our team going forward and for the next session and for the next session and for the next session.”
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