It was a tough start to the Ryder Cup for Team Europe, and they will be hoping that the Saturday pairings go much better for them. It was especially tough for Europe's most decorated player Rory McIlroy, who was in woeful form in two of Europe's six defeats Saturday.
USA lead Europe 6-2 after totally dominated the Friday's golf at Whistling Straits.
Europe go into day two chasing a four point deficit to the United States. Padraig Harrington and co will have a big job on their hands. They will do so without McIlroy. Harrington has made the big call of dropping McIlroy for the morning session today.
McIlroy was looking to join elite company in playing all five matches in five consecutive Ryder Cup matches but his form deserted him Friday.
The star power of the United States team appeared overwhelming for Team Europe early on Friday, as the likes of Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele dominated their opponents.
Later on in Friday action, Tony Finau and Harris English were the American standouts, as well as Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele who all brought home winning points.
LOWRY FROM DOWNTOWNpic.twitter.com/l4bnz8HDtM
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) September 24, 2021
European captain Padraig Harrington and American captain Steve Stricker have now made their picks for the first session of the day, the morning foursomes, and there are some intriguing matchups in the morning session.
Saturday Ryder Cup pairings
Morning foursomes
Match 1 (1:05pm) — Brooks Koepka/Daniel Berger (USA) vs. Sergio Garcia/Jon Rahm (EUR)
Match 2 (1:21pm) — Dustin Johnson/Collin Morikawa (USA) vs. Paul Casey/Tyrrell Hatton (EUR)
Match 3 (1:37pm) — Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (USA) vs. Viktor Hovland/Bern Wiesberger (EUR)
Match 4 (1:58pm) — Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (USA) vs. Lee Westwood/Matthew Fitzpatrick(EUR)
The pairings for the evening fourballs will be announced after the conclusion of the morning's play. Hopefully by the time we get around to those pairings on Saturday evening, there will be more of a contest for the win in this year's Ryder Cup.
SEE ALSO: The Harrington-Garcia Feud: How Was It Resolved
