McIlroy & Fleetwood reunite in Ryder Cup foursomes

As he prepares for Friday’s Ryder Cup opener against the United States in New York, European captain Luke Donald has chosen two heavyweight pairings, including reuniting Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.

In Europe’s victory in Rome two years ago, McIlroy and Fleetwood from Northern Ireland worked side by side for two important points.

Jon Rahm of Spain and Tyrrell Hatton of England, who won both of their matches last time out, were chosen to begin the visitors’ campaign for their first victory on American soil since 2012.

Justin Rose, the former world number one, is not competing in the morning foursomes, which begin at 7:10 am local time (12:10 BST).

Donald remarked, “We want to start strong. Hatton and Rahm have collaborated extensively.

They are very successful, get along well, and we are very pleased to have them out first.

Rahm suggested that it would be his responsibility to start the first tee shot for the away team, which will hit the opening shot.

Bryson DeChambeau, who missed the defeat in Rome but has since become a talisman for the hosts, will be sent out in his first Bethpage Black appearance alongside Justin Thomas, according to American captain Keegan Bradley.

Bradley has referred to big-hitting DeChambeau as having “X-Factor ability,” which the hosts’ captain hopes will immediately create momentum on Friday morning.

If the weather permits, DeChambeau will attempt to drive the first green on the 397-yard downhill opening hole to further enthral the New Yorkers.

He repeatedly tried it in practice without success, but he said, “It’s definitely drivable if it’s downwind. If the weather isn’t too soft, I might get the front edge.

“It’s 365 yards, or something like that,” the statement read. That is unimportant, is it? Basically a long drive shot.

DeChambeau is expected to try his luck, according to Bradley, who says he won’t let him.

With foursomes, personalities must be taken into account, Bradley said.

“Analytical data is extremely helpful, and golf balls are really important.” We can use so much information.

The European team’s key to breaking the cycle of dominant home victories at the biennial event has been consistency.

After becoming a well-known and successful captain in Rome, Donald was elected for a second term, and 11 of the 12 winners also made their comebacks.

However, he has chosen not to name the same four players who gave Europe a 4-0 lead at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

Victor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, both from Sweden, have been separated, while Aberg and Hovland both work together in Scotland.

Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry, both from Ireland, will not participate in the opening session.

Rasmus Hojgaard, the only player to join Europe’s team, must also wait. He took his twin brother Nicolai’s place in the other change.

Players evolved two years ago in Rome, players changed, their profiles, and now you’re seeing personality match-ups, Donald said.

We have a lot of options, according to the captain, who finds it really enjoyable.

“But we are aware that America will be strong. They form a formidable foursome. We wanted to bring our best, and this is what we thought was our best, into the partnerships that they have there.

Both Donald and Bradley are aware that the success of the recent Ryder Cup foursome format has been a reliable indicator of overall results.

Four years ago, the US won the record 19-9 victory at Whistling Straits by winning the opening foursomes 3-1. After winning the Friday Foursomes competition in 2016 with a 4-0 win at Hazeltine, Europe never truly recovered.

Donald continued, “I’ve been preparing for this for 21 months.”

“We are aware of the task at hand, we are aware of how difficult it is to win away,” said one of the Americans, who have won four games in a row since 1987.