Ryder Cup: Tennis legends fire up Europe as Friday foursomes announced

“I watched a little bit of Novak Djokovic playing in his match against Taylor Fritz. It was a very pro-American crowd. He’s had to deal with it his whole life, whether it’s playing against an American in New York or playing against Roger or Rafa,” McIlroy said at the time. “He came and spoke to us a little bit about that stuff last time in Rome. So maybe taking a leaf out of his book and channeling that energy the right way, but again, all we can do is control our reaction and our emotions to it.”

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will lead Europe’s Ryder Cup challenge after being named as Luke Donald’s opening foursomes pairing at Bethpage Black. They will take on Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas in a lip-smacking start to the contest on Friday.

Keegan Bradley, the USA captain, said he had given the green light for DeChambeau to cut the corner on the first hole and attempt to drive the green. It would be a showboating move that would undoubtedly whip up the huge galleries.

“We wanted to send out a fiery group to lead us out with these fans that have been waiting two years,” he said. “Bryson just relishes these opportunities. He wants them. Bryson has been a leader in our room.”

Hatton said it was an honour to go put first. “I would imagine it will be pretty noisy. They are amazing players, and it will be a tough game.”

Europe swept the Friday foursomes in Rome two years ago, but Donald, the captain, has decided to shake things up and has split up the combination of Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland.

Renowned for his straight hitting, Aberg will instead partner Matt Fitzpatrick, who has said vile abuse from the crowd played a part in his parents’ decision to skip a trip to New York. The Sweden-Sheffield combination will play the US pairing of Scottie Scheffler, the world No1, and Russell Henley.

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood will renew their winning partnership from two years ago, and play Collin Morikawa and Harris English in the third match. That means McIlroy avoids an early confrontation with Patrick Cantlay. The pair were at the centre of a storm in Rome, where McIlroy exploded in the parking lot after a confrontation with Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, on the Saturday.

The last match out has Hovland paired with Bob MacIntyre against one of the USA’s strongest duos, Xander Schauffele and Cantlay.

The decision to split Aberg and Hovland was expected after they did not play together in practice, but it will still surprise some given that they recorded two brilliant wins in the format in Rome, most memorably the record 9&7 defeat of Scheffler and Brooks Koepka. That left Scheffler in tears on the back of a buggy.

Donald said he had lots of options and had made the decision to split the duo after consulting with stats guru Edoardo Molinari. “I think my guys are ready for it,” he said as he looked ahead to the drama of the first tee. “It’s pure energy. It’s pure passion.”

The selections mean Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka, who won on Friday morning in 2023, must wait to make their entrance. That will come in the afternoon four-balls, along with Justin Rose and Rasmus Hojgaard. The USA players left on the bench are Sam Burns, Ben Griffin, JJ Spaun and Cameron Young.

Donald had no doubts about sending out Rahm and Hatton as his frontline partnership. The LIV Golf duo gelled in Rome and have since formed a tight bond, with Rahm detailing the liquid celebrations when he got his call-up for Bethpage. “I don’t drink that much but luckily I have a bigger tank to put it in,” he said before listing wine, G&Ts, amaretto sour, margarita and strawberry vodka. “The bartender was very great.”

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