Ryder Cup pairings, tee times for Friday foursomes

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will go up against Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in the opening foursomes match of the 44th Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

World Number One Scheffler will lead off the U.S. Team's attempt to win a Ryder Cup on European soil for the first time in 30 years, while Rahm will go out in his continent's first pairing for the second consecutive Ryder Cup at 7.35am local time on Friday.

Three Rookies feature in match two as Ludvig Åberg - who only turned professional in June - goes straight into the action for Europe alongside fellow Scandinavian Viktor Hovland.

They will take on Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa, with Captain Zach Johnson putting faith in a Rookie duo who have nine PGA TOUR wins between them.

Collin Morikawa claimed two points from two in foursomes in 2021 and he goes out for the U.S. alongside the returning Rickie Fowler against Shane Lowry and Rookie Sepp Straka in match three.

And in the anchor match, the undefeated American foursomes pair from 2021 of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele go up against World Number Two Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, who is undefeated in foursomes at the Ryder Cup.

Day One: Friday Foursomes

7.35am - Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton v Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns

Rahm and Hatton both made their Ryder Cup debuts in 2018 but did not get a taste of foursomes until 2021, with Rahm winning in both sessions alongside Sergio Garcia and Hatton losing his match alongside Paul Casey. The duo played together in the fourballs in 2021 against Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau, earning a tie. Close friends Scheffler and Burns played three matches together in the 2022 Presidents Cup but failed to win a full point, losing both their foursomes matches and getting a tie in the fourballs. The U.S. have gone out strong with the World Number One but with the high-energy pair of Hatton and Rahm on what is already sure to be a lively first tee, the crowd is likely to be electric from the word go.

7.50am - Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Åberg v Max Homa/Brian Harman

Hovland played his first Ryder Cup in 2021 and was one of just two Europeans to play all five matches, taking one point and losing both his foursomes contests. He arrives in Rome as perhaps the form player in the world, however, having won his last two PGA TOUR events en route to FedEx Cup glory and finished fifth at the DP World Tour's BMW PGA Championship. World Number 80 Åberg continues his meteoric rise having recently won on the DP World Tour after entering the paid ranks as the world's top amateur following a glittering collegiate career. Harman and Homa may be Ryder Cup Rookies but they have a wealth of golfing experience, with the former's stunning victory at Hoylake his third on the PGA TOUR and coming nine years after his first. Homa has six PGA TOUR victories, including this season's Farmers Insurance Open, and won all three of his matches in a pair at the 2022 Presidents Cup.

8.05am - Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka v Rickie Fowler/Collin Morikawa

Lowry did not feature in the foursomes in his 2021 debut but claimed a memorable point on Saturday afternoon in the four-balls alongside Hatton, losing his other match on Friday. He has just two top tens in 2023 but one of them came recently under the pressure of being a home star at the Irish Open. Rookie Straka has wins in each of the past two PGA TOUR seasons and also helped Continental Europe to victory over Great Britian & Ireland in January's Hero Cup. Fowler returns for his fifth Ryder Cup 13 years after his debut, having missed out in 2012 and 2021. He has two points from six foursomes matches, taking a full point in the Friday morning whitewash of 2016 alongside Phil Mickelson. Morikawa is undefeated in foursomes having won both his points on debut alongside Dustin Johnson in 2021, while he also took one point from two foursomes matches in the 2022 Presidents Cup.

8.20am - Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay

McIlroy is Europe's most experienced Ryder Cup player, having sat out just one session since making his debut in 2010. That was the second foursomes session three years ago and his record in the alternate-shot format sees him with five victories, five losses and one tie. Fleetwood has not played alongside McIlroy before in foursomes but won both his points with Francesco Molinari in 2018 before not featuring in the format in 2021. Cantlay and Schauffele were both Rookies in 2021 but did not look like them as they claimed a pair of convincing foursomes wins, and were one of the U.S. Team's expected pairings this week. That followed on from their two wins in the 2019 Presidents Cup and was followed by another Presidents Cup win in 2022. Across Ryder and Presidents Cups the duo's foursomes record is played five, won five.