Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald have decided to shake things up when deciding the fourball pairings that will play this Friday afternoon at Bethpage. Bradley’s change was almost necessary, as they are 3-1 down on the scoreboard, while Donald’s decision is simply part of the pre-planned strategy.
The afternoon fourball matches are as follows:
– Scheffler and Spaun Vs. Rahm and Straka
– Griffin and DeChambeau Vs. Fleetwood and Rose
– Young and Thomas Vs. Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard
– Burns and Cantlay Vs. McIlroy and Lowry
The fourballs start at 18:25, Spanish mainland time.
The first news from these pairings is the confirmation that all 24 players called up for this Ryder Cup will play at least one point on the first day. The eight who did not play in the morning foursomes will have their chance in the afternoon.
– Jon Rahm debuts with Sepp Straka. The Austrian, the only absentee at the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth due to the premature birth of his child, will be the sixth partner for the Barrika golfer in his four Ryder Cups. In France, he played with Justin Rose and Poulter. At Whistling Straits, he paired with Sergio García and Tyrrell Hatton. In Italy, he repeated with Hatton and added Nicolai Hojgaard. Now he debuts with Straka, a player who made his Ryder debut in Italy, won the first foursome with Shane Lowry on Friday, lost on Saturday also with Lowry, and fell again in the singles on Sunday against Justin Thomas. He has the opportunity to balance his record. Meanwhile, Rahm will seek his 9.5 points, as with this morning’s match he already has 8.5 in 13 matches. It wasn’t an unlucky day for the Barrika native.
They face a Scheffler who must be wounded after the thrashing he suffered this morning against Aberg and Fitzpatrick. This will be the fourth time Rahm faces Scheffler in a pair match. The first time they met was in a fourball at Whistling Straits in 2021, and they tied. Jon played with Hatton and Scheffler with DeChambeau. In Rome, they crossed paths twice in pairs. Again with Hatton in the foursome against Scheffler and Burns, with a European victory by 4 and 3, and in the Friday fourball. Jon and Nicolai Hojgaard tied against Scheffler and Koepka. In other words, Rahm has not yet lost a pair match in the Ryder Cup against Scheffler. Hopefully, this dynamic continues today.
– The other news is the benchings. Surprisingly, given the level of play shown in the morning, Keegan Bradley has benched a notable Xander Schauffele and kept Justin Thomas. Meanwhile, Luke Donald has left out the only pair that lost their point in the morning: MacIntyre and Hovland. The truth is that neither of them was particularly sharp, although they fought very well.
The Fleetwood and Rose pairing looks very promising, as does the Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard one. It’s true that the Swede isn’t exactly the most veteran on the team to support the rookie, but he already does so with the immense calm he always exudes on the course. The most surprising decision by Luke Donald has been to bench Fitzpatrick. This is less understandable. The explanation is that he doesn’t want to touch Rahm, McIlroy, and Fleetwood and wanted to bring in the four who hadn’t played. Perhaps the big question was between Aberg and Fitzpatrick, but there the numbers and Rasmus’s comfort, closer in age and culture to Aberg than to Fitzpatrick, prevailed. Hatton is the other player benched.
Among Keegan Bradley’s benchings, those of Russell Henley, English, and Morikawa are less surprising.
