Looking for their first Ryder Cup win on European soil in 30 years, the Americans already had a tough road ahead of them this week at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.
But things just got that much more difficult. The Europeans dominated the opening day on Friday — including a 4-0 sweep in the morning foursomes — to take a 6.5-1.5 lead heading into the weekend. In fact, it’s the first time the Americans had a winless day at the Ryder Cup, as they came away with only three ties in the afternoon session.
Now this is where the second-guessing might begin — and it could easily start with the first match of the day. Europe Ryder Cup veterans Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were put out first by captain Luke Donald, and U.S. captain Zach Johnson countered with Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns as his leadoff duo.
It was a 4-and-3 drubbing of the Americans, who made just one birdie in the entire round.
In hindsight, it was head-scratching to pair Scheffler and Burns, and to put them in the first match no less. Scheffler and Burns, who was a captain’s pick, played together at the 2022 Presidents Cup, although they were 0-2-1 together and 0-2 in foursomes. Now, Burns had to deal with the pressure of his first Ryder Cup, and the U.S. duo also had to battle a buzzsaw like Rahm, who the Americans had to assume was playing for Europe in this leadoff role since he did in the previous two Ryder Cups as well.
Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee had strong opinions on the U.S.’s opening pairing.
“They’ve had a lot of time to look at the data and I want to see the data where Scheffler and Burns are the best team to go first,” Chamblee said on Live From, shortly after the first day of competition. “I couldn’t even imagine what the data would say; There is no data to say that. Europe, historically, they give it their all, they give it their all, they have an excellent record in quads. I’m surprised it wasn’t Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele who were the first to enter the forced encounter. But among the strangest captain’s choices I’ve ever seen, I can easily put this in the top 5 strangest things I’ve ever seen a captain do, ranking Sam Burns with Scott Scheffler. “You talk about Sam Burns, again, he’s a great player,” Chamblee continued. “Don’t confuse yourself. But you know, there are 12 excellent players on the American side and you look at Sam’s Strokes Gained score:
Tee to Green, he’s 12th, he’s last on this team. If you look at the turf in terms of regulation and driving accuracy, he’s 12th out of 12.”
When asked later if he regretted anything that day, Johnson said no.
“I trust my process. I feel like it still works,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t in our favor today. This doesn’t mean tomorrow and it certainly can’t be done on Sunday. I mean regret, you know, I think there’s still a lot of opportunity, and that’s how I look at it.
Two years ago at Whistling Straits, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas led off Friday morning’s four-man session, beating Rahm and Justin Rose by 1. Spieth and Thomas sat on the bench Friday morning but played four shots ball together at noon later. Although Spieth struggled to finish the round, the duo was arguably the best of the Americans.
Live From host Rich Lerner wondered why Scheffler and Brooks Koepka weren’t considered for this opener. Analyst Paul McGinley, a former Ryder Cup captain, disagrees.
“Going out first thing in the morning is not about data, it’s not about statistics, it’s about heart,” McGinley said. “Who will fight here? Who can resist the heat of this situation? Who will hold back the energy coming from the public and the away team? Who will stop this flow? What will give you the best chance of achieving this? And to a larger extent, you eliminate that and turn off the characters. … But what you want to do when you’re away from home is highlight characters that won’t let you down and will give you the best chance of survival in a very, very hostile environment.
The Americans have much ground to make up. Leading off Saturday’s morning foursomes? Spieth and Thomas take on Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood. They tee off at 1:35 a.m. ET on USA. Here’s how you can watch all of Saturday’s action.