Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald have shown great harmony as captains. They are neighbours, good friends, and compliment each other without being prompted. It comes naturally to them. However, when it comes to the pure and hard preparation for the competition, such as organising the days of prior training, their methods are diametrically opposed.
Bradley opts for continuity. Today, Wednesday, is the third practice day for the United States, and the variation has been minimal. From Monday to Tuesday, he only made a man-for-man change between groups and has undone it today. That is, he repeats what he did on Monday, so JJ Spaun is back with English, Scheffler, and Henley, and Morikawa returns to the group of Cantlay, Schauffele, and Burns.
The United States captain is very clear about his pairs and will not deviate from them. Scheffler and Henley are a sure bet, as are Cantlay and Schauffele. From the group of DeChambeau, Thomas, Young, and Griffin, two pairs will also emerge, as they have played together every day. It is likely that the other two foursome pairs for Friday will be there. The uncertainty seems to be, once again, in Morikawa’s pair. It seems the choice is between Harris English and Sam Burns. It is likely that tomorrow Bradley will not resolve anything in this regard and will organise the practice round with the same groups as Tuesday, that is, swapping Spaun for Morikawa again. We shall see.
These are the groups playing today at Bethpage for the United States:
English, Henley, Scheffler, and Spaun
Burns, Cantlay, Schauffele, and Morikawa
DeChambeau, Griffin, Thomas, and Young
Luke Donald, on the other hand, remains true to his style. He is doing the same as in Italy, that is, mixing up the pairs, mixing a lot, making quite a few changes from one training day to the next. In fact, compared to yesterday, Europe’s first practice day, the captain only keeps three pairs playing together: Rahm and Hatton, Hovland and MacIntyre, and Fleetwood and Rose. Does this mean we will see these three pairs during the Ryder Cup? Well, not necessarily, but it wouldn’t be surprising either. Perhaps the Hovland and MacIntyre duo is more unusual, but they both play the same ball, which might be a clue for the foursome matter.
Today’s groups in Europe, therefore, are:
Hatton, Lowry, Rahm, and Straka
Fitzpatrick, Hovland, MacIntyre, and McIlroy
Aberg, Fleetwood, Rasmus Hojgaard, and Rose
Some clues to analyse this training session. Straka and Lowry played two foursomes together in Rome, McIlroy and Fitzpatrick played two fourballs, and Rose partnered with rookie MacIntyre in Rome, so it wouldn’t be strange to see him pair with Rasmus. In any case, the word at Bethpage is that Nicolai’s twin brother has a good chance of playing the fourball with Rahm, following his brother’s lead in Rome.
Today is a day to make the most of the training because it’s really uncertain how much will be played tomorrow. Thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected, so it’s best not to leave any loose ends for Thursday in case they can’t even get out on the course. In this regard, the change in the order of press conferences is very significant. Today there are only three, when many more were scheduled, and almost all the protagonists have been left for Thursday. If not much play is expected, it’s a good time to attend to the media.
Remember that the opening ceremony is brought forward to today, Wednesday, precisely because of the bad weather expected for tomorrow.
