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Ryder Cup Friday pairings reaction: Surprise omissions from foursomes?

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We still haven’t seen our first real golf shot, but at least we have a real piece of news! Ryder Cup captainsKeegan Bradleyand Luke Donald have announced their respective teams for Friday’s first foursomes session.

On site at Bethpage Black, our writers give their instant reactions — from the biggest surprise to the most exciting match to whether one side has already gained an advantage.

Dylan Dethier: Okay gang, I’ll serve as host here. We’ve just watched the pairings come out — here’s what we’ve got:

FRIDAY FOURSOMES (all times ET)

7:10 a.m. Rahm / Hatton vs. DeChambeau / Thomas

7:26 a.m. Aberg / Fitzpatrick vs. Scheffler / Henley

7:42 a.m. McIlroy / Fleetwood vs. Morikawa / English

7:58 a.m. MacIntyre / Hovland vs. Schauffele / Cantlay

Sitting for Team USA: Sam Burns, Ben Griffin, J.J. Spaun, Cameron Young

Sitting for Team Europe: Rasmus Hojgaard, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Sepp Straka

1. Which match are you most excited to follow?

Sean Zak: The first one, duh! There will be fireworks, perhaps from the first swing of the event if DeChambeau can drive the 1st green. But Vegas likes the duo of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, and with good reason.

James Colgan:That first match has the chance to end Western Civilization before most of the Bethpage faithful have gotten their first cup of coffee. Holy hell, what a good time.

Bastable: If Bryson doesn’t have a go at the first green, I’m hopping on the media shuttle and heading back to New Jersey. Rory and Tommy also will be a joy to watch, and I’m eager to see if Xander and P-Ice still possess their match-play magic. Xander’s form is, pun very much intended, a big X-factor this week.

Dethier: Bryson’s rightfully the headliner. But that second match is such an interesting mix of styles — and includes the undisputed World No. 1. Time to stress-test that Scheffler-Henley duo that looked promising at the Presidents Cup. And if Team Europe steals a point in the second or fourth match, that could be a harbinger of an upset to come…

2. Any surprising omissions — or inclusions?!

Zak:Really thought New York’s very own Cam Young would be playing as many matches as possible. He’s playing the best golf of his life and he uses the same ball as DeChambeau. Would imagine he goes out early in the afternoon. The biggest surprise? Per DataGolf’s fascinating optimal pairings breakdown, Morikawa / English is among the worst possible fits. (Depending on who hits the first tee shot they’re either the 130th or 132nd best fit out of 132.)

Colgan:Not necessarily a talentomission, but I was surprised to see Luke Donald break up the Aberg/Hovland pairing. That duo was sofreaking good in Rome. I think a lot of golf fans are forgetting how important they were to the European success in ‘23. Maybe we’ll see them in the afternoon.

Bastable:I was still holding out hope that Keegan would rethink his decision to bench himself. Nah, honestly, no big surprises here. Given a third of the U.S. Open team are rookies, figured we’d see the vets leading the way in the opening sesh.

Dethier: I would have guessed we’d see either Young or Griffin instead of Harris English — but I guess that’ll be the case Friday afternoon instead. Morikawa / English should be the biggest underdogs of the first session, though. I’d also suspected we’d see Shane Lowry in foursomes. One other bit of note: Even though Justin Rose is 7-2-1 in his foursomes career, he didn’t play a foursomes session in Rome and it looks like he may not play one here, either.

3. Based on these matchups alone, which side has the first-session advantage?

Zak:Slight advantage to the Euros, who are playing their literal eight best players. If the Americans win this session, it’s a big statement.

Colgan:Agreed, Sean. Major pressure right off the bat on Morikawa and Harris English — long viewed as two of the more vulnerable Americans — not to get smoked by McIlroy/Fleetwood in that third group off. It really does feel like that first pairing of Bryson/JT vs. Rahm/Hatton has the chance to set the tone for the entire Cup.

Bastable: The U.S. cannotfall in an early hole, but, yeah, when I look at those names, it’s not to give the on-paper edge to the Euros. JT’s form is concerning. In that opening match, I definitely give the edge to Rahm and Hatton.

Dethier: I’d give a slight edge to the Euros and it appears Vegas would, too; the Americans’ odds went from -155 to -145 after the announcement. Recent history, though, would tell you not to count out the home team in any foursomes match. Real answer? Giant shrug.

4. Which players do you think will go all five sessions?

Zak: It’s a LOT, but I could totally see all of McIlroy, Rahm, Aberg, Fleetwood play five sessions. As for the Americans, it’s Scottie Scheffler, Russ Henley and maybe Bryson DeChambeau.

Colgan:McIlroy, Fleetwood, Rahm, Scheffler, DeChambeau, Cantlay.

Bastable: Scheffler, Scheffler and Scheffler.

Dethier: Scottie, Rory, Tommy, Rahm. I think we see a pretty balanced attack from the Americans.

5. You may have said this in other roundtables, but just to be clear: Which team wins and what’s the final score?

Zak: The Europeans lead early. The Europeans lead in the middle. But the Americans lead late. I’ll say Europe enters Sunday leading 9-7 and loses the depth battle on Sunday. U.S.A. wins 15-13.

Colgan: I’m changing my score prediction. 15.5-12.5 USA. The Euros are 100 percent the better team, but home-field advantage is so important.

Bastable: [checks last week’s Tour Confidential] Europe 14.5, USA 13.5, in a thriller for the ages.

Dethier: It scares me to line up with these other two jokesters but I’m staying strong at 15.5-12.5 USA.

Ryder Cup officials announce increased security measures with President Trump attending Friday

Ryder Cup officials announced Wednesday increased security measures with U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled to attending Friday morning’s opening session on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park.

Officials said in a release, “attendees are strongly urged to arrive as early as possible and should budget extra time as they plan their day.†There will also be additional screening at entrances, and spectators will be “subjected to TSA-style screening points†around the clubhouse, adjacent grandstand and surrounding areas.

Gates open at 5 a.m. EDT with the first foursomes match scheduled for 7:10 a.m. in Farmingdale, New York.

“Guests should expect temporary delays moving around publicly accessible areas inside and outside of the Bethpage Black Golf Course,†official said. “These areas may briefly become restricted or frozen spaces before, during or after the event.â€

Trump attended the men’s tennis U.S. Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium earlier this month in Flushing, New York, creating congestion and lengthy waits for fans, and leading officials to delay the start of the match by 30 minutes. Even with the delay, many fans had to watch the start of the final outside the stadium on big screens.

PGA of America officials are hoping the increased notice will help alleviate some of the same pain points.

A list of prohibited items can be viewed here.

Golf

Trump expected to arrive at Bethpage later Friday for Ryder Cup

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    Mark SchlabachSep 23, 2025, 11:35 AM ET

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    • Senior college football writer
    • Author of seven books on college football
    • Graduate of the University of Georgia

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — President Donald Trump isn’t expected to arrive at Bethpage Black for the opening day of the Ryder Cup until later Friday, a decision organizers hope will eliminate long security delays that plagued the US Open men’s tennis final in New York earlier this month.

Trump watched Carlos Alcaraz defeat Jannik Sinner in four sets from Rolex’s suite inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sept. 7. With extra security in place, the starting time of the match was delayed 37 minutes. Thousands of fans were still in security lines to get into the arena when the match started.

The PGA of America is hoping to get final clarification about Trump’s plans from the White House in the next 24 hours, a spokesman told ESPN.

PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague previously confirmed that the governing body invited Trump to the Ryder Cup “a number of weeks ago.”

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The first match of the opening foursomes (alternate shot) session on Friday is scheduled for 7:10 a.m. ET. A fourball (best ball) session of four matches is scheduled to start at 12:25 p.m. ET.

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler told reporters on Tuesday that, as far as he knew, Trump wasn’t scheduled to speak to the U.S. team before the start of the Ryder Cup.

“The president is kind of funny,” Scheffler said. “He loves the game of golf. He loves supporting golfers, and I get a call or a text from him sometimes after wins. He just loves the game of golf, and he’s one of those guys when you’re around him, he does such a good job of, like, feeding confidence into everybody around him.

“I don’t think he has any plans to address us as a team, but I’m sure if things go well, we’ll hear from him this week.”

Trump’s organization owns several golf courses around the world, so it’s not surprising that he’ll attend the first Ryder Cup to take place in the New York area.

“I’m deeply honored that the president of the United States is going to come support our team at the Ryder Cup,” U.S. team captain Keegan Bradley said. “I think anytime you can be around a current president is a pretty phenomenal thing, but when you’re representing your country at a place like Bethpage Black in New York, having the president there to support you is something that is just absolutely incredible. I’m really grateful to him for doing that for us.”

Bradley indicated that Trump might be standing at the first tee once he arrives at the Black Course.

“I really look forward to what that first tee is going to be like with the president on the tee,” Bradley said. “I think this first tee at Bethpage is going to be a sporting event to remember across any sport, and then you add on the president of the United States standing there, I really think it’s going to be something that everyone will remember forever.”

“Whatâ€s on the Telly?†WWF Raw brings us “Championship Friday” from 1996 and five years on, a look at wXw’s attempt at episodic wrestling during pandemic. HBK vs. Goldust, a Disco Brawl, a Dog Collar match, more (103 min.)

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SHOW SUMMARY:In our latest episode of Alan4L’s ProWres Paradise, PWTorch columnist Alan4L is joined by European wrestling expert Ian Hamilton for the September edition of “What’s on the Telly?” In this monthly series, Alan and his guest will each pick an episode of wrestling TV from that month in the past and break it down. This month we check in on a transition period for the WWF in 1996 and a transition period for the whole of society in 2020! With one foot still in the “New Generation,” Raw was beginning to move to “the Attitude Era” on a show deemed “Championship Friday” with a WWF title defense for Shawn Michaels against Goldust and multiple bouts in an Intercontinental title tournament. Plus, Jim Ross and Brian Pillman have scoops, Sid faces a unique challenge, Ahmed Johnson on the shelf, and more. From there, we tentatively open up the archives to 2020 (shudder) and look back at a tough time for us all and a challenging time for people trying to produce wrestling television. We look at how wXw approached their episodic Shotgun program, focusing on Season 2 Episode 4 with wacky skits aplenty and some interesting matches. Sit back, relax, and check out whatâ€s on the telly with us this month!

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