FARMINGDALE, NY. The announcement of the pairings for the opening foursomes matches announced late Thursday and the players picked, and those remaining on the sidelines, makes for interesting combinations.

Both USA skipper Keegan Bradley and Euro Captain Luke Donald have chosen a combination of teams in order to get off to a quick start at Bethpage.

How do the respective pairings appear and who is favored with each match?

7:10 a.m.: Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton vs. Bryson DeChambeau/Justin Thomas

Hard to envision a match with any higher testosterone than this opening pairing. The USA tandem of DeChambeau and Thomas are likely to get the home fans engaged. DeChambeau will likely hit the opening tee shot for the team and should he come near the green by cutting off the dog-leg right one can only expect the assembled gallery to get the emotional juices going.

The flipside for the Europeans is to take the expected raucous crowd out of the picture and take down DeChambeau and Thomas. Rahm and Hatton played in the opening foursome match in Rome and defeated the tandem of Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns. The Euro pairing was paired again in the same format on day two and also won – defeating Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Interesting match because three of the four players are now competing on the LIV tour – the lone exception being Thomas.

A USA win in the opening match would be a plus to generate the kind of needed momentum that was lacking in Rome when the Americans were swept in the opening session. A Euro win could take plenty of the vocal air out of the balloon.

The slightest of edges to the Americans.

7:26 a.m.: Ludvig Åberg/Matt Fitzpatrick vs. Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley

The world’s premier player is looking to demonstrate his supremacy with this year’s Ryder Cup. In Rome, Scottie was nonexistent in four matches — with only one tie to show for his efforts. Henley marks a clear change for the pairing as Sam Burns had been with Scheffler previously.

The Euro team of Åberg and Fitzpatrick will need to show plenty of firepower to handle the American tandem. Fitzpatrick’s overall Ryder Cup record is an anemic 1-7-0.

Åberg is a superb ball striker but his putting can be problematic. Henley is playing in his first Ryder Cup and having Scheffler as his wing mate will be most helpful.

The USA duo are the clear favorites here.

7:42 a.m.: Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood vs. Collin Morikawa/Harris English

McIlroy stated winning a Ryder Cup on American soil was one of his chief goals for 2025. Pairing with Fleetwood in both foursome sessions in Rome provided two wins. The USA duo of Morikawa and English will have their hands full here. The question mark that needs to be answered – how will Morikawa fare given his lackluster playing season in 2025?

McIlroy realizes that the luster of his early year success — winning The Players and Masters was quickly surpassed by the monster year Scheffler had. Playing in his 8th Ryder Cup, Rory understands how important it is for the partnership with Fleetwood to be on the winning side.

The Euro duo has the clear edge here.

7:58 a.m.: Viktor Hovland/Robert MacIntyre vs. Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele

Interesting match-up. The Cantlay / Schauffele partnership yielded results when last played on USA soil in Wisconsin going undefeated when paired together. That did not happen when they hooked up in Paris two years later – losing both times in the two foursome sessions.

Hovland’s year has been less than expected and the continual rise of MacIntyre on the world stage is a story that just keeps blossoming. Of all the pairings in the first session this one looks to be extremely close. The pressure will be on the Americans to show Paris was an aberration and they are ready to rumble once again.

Like to give the American the edge but see the Euro pairing pushing this all the way to the 18th and finishing in a halved match.

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Players sitting out first session

Team Europe: Justin Rose, Sepp Straka, Rasmus Højgaard, Shane Lowry
Team USA: Ben Griffin, J.J. Spaun, Sam Burns, Cameron Young

Related: USA team claims Junior Ryder Cup match

Down early in singles matches, rallies for five-point win.

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